West Midlands Trains Ltd ( a joint venture between Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co Ltd. with Abellio the majority shareholder) will take over the rail franchise from the current Govia owned London Midland in December 2017.
There are numerous improvements and changes promised for the Cross City Line, the London Euston to Crewe Semi Fasts that call at Lichfield Trent Valley , The Chase Line and most West Midlands services.
Further detail is contained in the official Press Release. This includes a map where you can select a particular rail line to see the promised changes/ improvements. The relevant routes to select for our local area are :-
Birmingham Cross City Line.
Birmingham Chase Line.
London to Crewe.