£13M worth of rail improvements planned for London Midland customers

West Midlands will benefit from £13M worth of rail improvements after government agree new deal for rail services in the region.

The improvements include two extra services every weekday from London to Trent Valley, providing an additional 2,300 seats from Euston each week, plus earlier services to central Birmingham on Sunday mornings from surrounding towns including Rugby and Lichfield.

There have been an additional Sunday services from Longbridge, Dorridge and Whitlocks End.  The services will provide an extra 900 seats each week which will benefit shoppers, workers and local businesses. An extra daily return service on the Abbey line will also provide 3,400 more seats each week.

There is focus on a better customer experience, with free Wi-Fi for passengers on long-distance journeys between London Euston, Birmingham, Crewe and Liverpool. Free Wi-Fi will be on all services once the next fully-completed franchise starts.

The introduction of new and upgraded ticket machines will provide a new click and collect service, with contactless payment options.

Watford, Hemel Hempstead and Tamworth will deliver more than 400 extra parking spaces.

West Midlands will employ extra drivers, conductors and on-board staff to ensure they meet targets for passenger satisfaction, cleanliness and punctuality.

CCTV will be installed on cross-city Birmingham services to improve security. The operator will work with Smart City Partnership for the introduction of smart ticketing trains to provide more convenient journeys for passengers.

London Midland Managing Director Patrick Verwer said: “Winning this contract is a great endorsement by the DfT of how London Midland is focused on improving our passengers’ journeys.

“It will enable us to continue delivering improvements for our customers and, as before, we remain committed to listening to our passengers and working with our stakeholders, communities and local elected representatives to make further improvements in the months ahead.”

Around 64 million passengers travel on London Midland services every year.

 

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