WEST Midlands Mayor Andy Street was recently shown the sights of Redditch during a whistle-stop tour.

The first ever Mayor of the West Midlands, elected in May, was invited by Redditch Council leader Bill Hartnett who took him on a short trip around the town which included Mettis Aerospace, the town centre, and the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.

As well as talking about business growth and plugging the skills gap Cllr Hartnett spoke at length about transport and rail improvements.

Particularly that Redditch should have an express train which would run between Redditch and Birmingham New Street ideally only stopping once at the University (Birmingham), cutting the journey time in half to around 20 minutes.

He also spoke about “fare equalisation” to match the fares charged within the metropolitan area.

Speaking afterwards Cllr Hartnett described the occasion as a "positive visit".

"Andy said he was very impressed with what he saw," he said.