More delays as London Midland named among worst
Under-fire rail operator London Midland was today named among the worst for customer satisfaction.
Passengers faced more delays in the region as just 45 per cent said they are happy with its service.
Passengers today faced 30-minute delays between Walsall and Birmingham New Street due to an overhead signalling problem.
Results of a customer satisfaction survey were released after London Midland offered compensation, free travel days and cheaper tickets for cancelling hundreds of services last year due to driver shortages.
The firm, which has services through the Black Country and Staffordshire including the Chase Line from Birmingham to Walsall and Rugeley, is among more than half of train firms with customer satisfaction levels of less than 50 per cent.
Another West Midlands operator, Arriva Trains Wales, provided a satisfactory service to 48 per cent of passengers according to the Which? survey.
Top of a table from responses of 7,500 regular train users, was West Coast main line operator Virgin Trains with 67 per cent.
Almost 1,000 London Midland trains were cancelled between October and December after dozens of drivers left. The firm was told to offer a £7 million compensation package giving season ticket holders five days free travel as well as opening up more cheaper tickets to buy in advance.
The Association of Train Operating Companies said a survey by independent watchdog Passenger Focus asked up to eight times as many people a year as Which? and last month reported 85 per cent of passengers were satisfied with service – a record high.
