Free tickets on London Midland services after delays
Free travel passes and cheap tickets will be handed to passengers plagued by delays and cancellations on London Midland services, it was announced today.
More than £2 million will also be spent on improving reliability of trains in the West Midlands, which has been one of the worst areas affected by a shortages of drivers.
It led to serious disruption for many weeks on hundreds of services, although bosses this month introduced a new timetable and insisted problems were over.
The company runs services through Rugeley, Lichfield, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and Kidderminster.
Today, Transport Minister Norman Baker revealed that London Midland season ticket holders will be given five days of free travel passes. There will also be 500,000 additional cheap advance tickets on key network routes in Staffordshire and the West Midlands, Northampton, Crewe and
Liverpool and a commitment to invest in infrastructure improvements.
Mr Baker said: "London Midland has cancelled or delayed hundreds of services in recent months. On repeated occasions, they were not able to provide enough drivers and some services had to be cancelled, with severe delays to services, and they have fallen short both of everyone's expectations and their franchise obligations."
The free tickets will be available to weekly, monthly and annual season ticket holders, who have been affected by disruption, while the additional advance tickets will be available over the next two years on key London Midland routes.
The deal will also confirm the end date of the franchise as September 2015, ensuring that London Midland has sufficient time to resolve the problems permanently.
