Vandals hit city train

A TRAIN set to help get rail services back on track was taken out of service because of vandals in Coventry.

The West Midlands Railway (WMR) carriages were targeted by graffiti artists in the city meaning they were unable to be used for scheduled services today.

Owned by WMR sister company London Northwestern Railway, it had been due to serve destinations including Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall.

The operator began operating increased timetables on May 18 to help get people back to work with the easing of some Covid-19 restrictions.

Similar attacks have taken place at other sites on the rail network in recent weeks.

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway, said: “With social distancing currently reducing the capacity of our trains, it is more important than ever that we have as many carriages as possible available for use. At a time when our cleaning teams are working extremely hard in challenging conditions, it is soul-destroying for them to face this pointless additional workload just to get carriages back on the tracks.

“Trespassing on the railway is illegal, extremely dangerous and can lead to serious injury. We urge anyone who witnesses this behaviour to contact the British Transport Police.”

To contact the British Transport Police, call 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016.

West Midlands Railway reminded passengers to only use the train if their journey is essential and no other method of transport is available, to assist with social distancing.

Workers able to work from home have been told by the government to do so. For those unable to work from home, the government has urged people to consider walking or cycling or driving and only using public transport as a last resort.