Commuters losing confidence in trains due to strikes, says West Midlands Mayor

Andy Street said the disruption to services caused by industrial action was hitting passenger numbers on the trains.

But he said there were signs that West Midlands Trains (WMT) were starting to "break the strike" by putting on increased services on strike days.

Today's National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) strike will see a limited service across the region. It follows yesterday's action by Aslef which saw all WMT services cancelled.

Conservative Mayor Mr Street told the Star: "On non-striking days, the performance of WMT is getting much better, with cancellations down to one per cent.

"But all of this good work is simply thrown away every time we have a strike. Commuters are losing their confidence and patronage falls down dramatically."

Mr Street said the strikes were having a serious impact on the region's night-time economy, with the lack of trains resulting in reduced numbers at bars and restaurants.

"It is really bad news for the hospitality sector, which is already going through a difficult time," he said.

For the first time since the industrial action began WMT was today due to run a service on the Birmingham Snow Hill line through Stourbridge and Rowley, while there were also services scheduled north of Walsall to Rugeley.

Mr Street said: W"e have been saying to WMT that they need to improve the service on strike days and the good news is they have done that.

"Steadily we are getting to the point where WMT are breaking the strike." The Mayor repeated his call for all sides to "get around the table" and end the action as quickly as possible.