Centro, the West Midlands public transport promotion group, says its latest figures show more than 29.3m people used the train last year.
The growth in rail use means public transport is now the dominant mode of travel during the Birmingham rush hour.
The group is now calling on the government to give greater investment to expand the network.
The number of train journeys taken in the West Midlands has grown by 7% according to Centro's Annual Statistical Report.
Passenger levels on local services grew faster than on the long-distance services.
Shoppers increase
Outside the rush hour, the number of people arriving at Birmingham's city centre rail stations has also increased.
More than 71,000 passengers use local services and the Chiltern Railways services on a typical week day.
Shopping developments such as the Bull Ring are thought to be partly behind the increase.
The figures also show that 30% of rush hour journeys into Wolverhampton are now made by public transport and more than a third of commuters travelling into West Bromwich use the bus, train or tram.
The number of commuters using park and ride schemes is also increasing but the use of buses has fallen, although the West Midlands still has the highest level of bus use in any metropolitan area.
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