Rail boss goes after timetable shambles
THE boss of beleaguered West Midlands Trains is stepping down just weeks after the company came under fire from the region’s mayor over its “woeful” performance.
Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde was criticised after months of delays, cancellations and staff shortages on the network. According to a statement from West Midlands Trains (WMT), he decided last year that he wanted to take a career break after 30 years in the rail industry before moving on to new ventures.
West Midlands Trains runs the key Cross City commuter route between Redditch and Lichfield via Birmingham New Street.
Before Christmas, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street launched a furious broadside against the company saying he would ask the Government to strip it of its franchise if it did not rapidly improve.
He also said he wanted responsibility for the West Midlands franchise to come under the control of the mayor’s office.
Julian Edwards has been appointed as the new managing director of WMT.
He has been a director since 2017 but has spent the past six months as interim managing director of Abellio’s East Midlands Railway during the launch of the new franchise there.
He also worked for WMT’s predecessors Central Trains and London Midland.
He said: “This is an exciting time to be joining WMT as passengers will start to see the benefits of our £1 billion investment programme.
“The last six months been very difficult.
“I would like to thank Jan for addressing many of the issues, including settling the dispute with the RMT, delivering a
has three per cent discount for season ticket holders, introducing more rolling stock in December and the recent timetable changes that are already making a positive impact on train performance.
“There is still much to do. “Work is well advanced on further performance improvements, the May 2020 timetable, additional compensation for non-season ticket holders and the roll out of two brand new train fleets starting in the second half of this year.
“The introduction of our new trains, combined with the investment programme in stations and customer services and the much-needed changes to timetables in 2020, gives us the opportunity to have a railway the people of WMT and our customers can be proud of.”
Mr Chaudhry-van der Velde will work with Mr Edwards until Easter to ensure a smooth transition.
West Midlands Trains was formed in 2017 as a joint venture between Dutch firm Abellio as majority shareholder with minority partners East Japan Railway Company and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui.
It won the bid to take over the franchise previously held by London Midland and commenced operations in late 2017.