West Midlands Police chief holds meeting over poor West Midlands Train performances

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner took the extraordinary step of holding a public meeting into poor services from West Midlands Trains.

It comes a week after the company’s boss Julian Edwards assured Express & Star readers that improvements will be made on the back of delayed trains and overcrowded carriages.

Despite being a police chief, Mr Jamieson said he had reasonable ground to step in on a transport issue. His meeting was about "safety on trains" in the West Midlands.

He told the Express & Star: "I travel on the trains regularly. The feedback I got from people is that they were really worried about safety on the platforms. There were beginnings of what looked like altercations between people, fighting to get on the train.

"The other thing is I have 10,000 people who work for the force. I was getting feedback that the trains were failing very often. One, people weren't getting away, and home, on the late night trains. So we have got people leaving this building (Lloyd House, Birmingham) at 10pm, 11pm, at night, when they are handing over shifts on 999 calls. One woman said her last train to Kidderminster was cancelled and she had a £60 Uber to pay for.

"Then I have got police officers needing to get where they should be. The criminals don't wait until the police officer arrives on his train. The police officers need to be where they need to be, on time."

Asked why he has stepped in - a week after the company's boss promised changes - he said: "They (West Midlands Trains) said improvements will be made. We are looking for those improvements. Just last night (Wednesday), 24 hours ago, there was absolute chaos at Snow Hill. All the trains that I saw on the board was cancelled. There were people fighting to get on the train.

"I am using my statute to convene people. And the most senior civil servant in the country, which is the Cabinet Secretary, he has actually said that police and crime commissioners should use their convening power when there are problems relating to public safety which may not be directly involved with the police."

West Midlands Trains and Network Rail were invited by Mr Jamieson to attend the public meeting at Lloyd House, Birmingham, but no representatives attended.

“Maybe their train is late,” Mr Jamieson told the meeting, which was attended by members of the public.

Passengers who have experienced trouble using West Midlands Trains were invited to give evidence as witnesses at the meeting.

One woman, Chelmsley Wood Town Councillor Hazel Dawkins, told how she struggles attending Wolverhampton university, where she is studying, on the train on what is an 18-mile journey.

She said: "I want to get answers on public safety. The trains haven't improved in my opinion."