West Mids trains warned franchise remains ‘at risk’
WEST Midlands Trains has survived a takeover threat from mayor Andy Street - but has been warned that the franchise remains ‘at risk.’
Late last year, there were warnings that the railway franchise could be stripped away from Abellio, which owns West Midlands Trains, after frequent late trains and cancellations.
The company was told by Mr Street to improve quickly, or face losing the franchise by midnight on January 31.
Now the mayor revealed that the rail firm has improved - and is being given more time to make further changes.
But he warned he still has “very serious concerns” including that promised extra carriages to stop overcrowding hadn’t arrived - and that he wouldn’t hesitate to ask Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to take the franchise away if problems resurfaced.
In a letter to Mr Shapps, Mr Street said the company should expect harsh fines running into “tens of millions” for its failures last autumn and winter.
Thousands of passengers were affected by late running services or cancellations. In December there were more than 1,600 cancellations.
Mr Street said reliability had fallen from nearly 92 per cent before May to less than 45 per cent on some lines.
“This complete meltdown had serious impacts on residents of the West Midlands; people were left stranded on platforms unable to get home to loved ones, they were frequently late for work, and often missed critical appointments. It was a woeful situation, and one that could not be allowed to continue,” he said in the letter.
But figures show performance has begun to improve.
Mr Street added: “Cancellations have decreased from 1,351 in December to 203 in January. And the number of trains turning up on time or within five minutes has gone from an average of 78% to more than 88%.”
He also added: “Had the December level of performance continued there would have been no way back for West Midlands Trains.”
Mr Street said West Midlands Trains would be kept under “regular review”.
He added that February half-term will be a key point.
“Many passengers are also familiar with WMT’s staffing problems, and as a result are sceptical that the short term performance can be sustained,” the letter continued.
“February half-term will be the next real test of the staffing situation, and I will not hesitate to ask you to take the franchise away from WMT if last year’s problems resurface.”
Mr Street added: “The improvements we have seen so far this year are a start, but they most definitely do not make up for months of misery.
“There is a very long way to go if WMT want to keep the franchise long-term, and I will be relentless in my pursuit of these continued improvements. As part of this I will be reviewing performance figures daily, getting regular feedback from commuters, and meeting WMT’s managing director every fortnight to hold his feet to the fire.
“Passengers also remain furious at the serious overcrowding that continues to plague a number of services. I have been told that this will be tackled and that new carriages are coming, but I am yet to see any substantial evidence of this. WMT promised to address overcrowding when they took on the franchise in 2017, and we must see swift and decisive action on this if they are to continue to run West Midlands Railway.
“Therefore, with all the above in mind, I will be keeping WMT under regular review with the threat of losing the franchise still very real.
“If at any point I lose confidence in WMT’s performance I will be writing to you to ask for the franchise to go. Their first ultimatum may have passed, but the threat they face of losing the franchise has not.”
Improvements noted since December included:
46 new drivers and 40 guards to tackle their chronic staff shortages Offsetting the annual fare rise for season ticket holders with a three per cent discount, and offering off-peak discount for day passengers during school holidays in 2020
Pledging to only use ‘skipstopping’ as a last resort, addressing a problem that has plagued the Coventry corridor
Appointing a new managing director and other senior managers
Mr Street said many of those measures came about “as a direct result of my pressure”.
He also called for the company to face substantial fines for breaching its franchise agreement during 2019, adding: “I want to make sure this fine is both strict and substantial. WMT bosses need to understand just how badly they let passengers down, and I believe a hefty financial penalty running into the tens of millions is a clear way of showing this. Moreover these fines should be spent on improving our local services, and in particular on boosting capacity on some of our beleaguered lines.
“It is imperative that the financial penalties inflicted on West Midlands Trains result in a better service for passengers in the region.”
The decision was welcomed by West Midlands Trains.
Managing director Julian Edwards said: “We are pleased the Mayor recognises we are moving in the right direction.We are determined to sustain this progress, starting with more performance improving timetable changes this month.
“Every part of this business is now singularly focused on providing our customers with the reliable rail service they deserve. We will continue to work with the Mayor to make sure we achieve that, as he continues to hold us to account.”