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The West Midlands mayor has called for a drastic improvement on the region's train services, warning that he will call for West Midlands Trains to have the franchise stripped.

It comes after months of train disruption on local train services following the introduction of a new timetable in May 2019.

Today (December 23), Andy Street has described the service offered by West Midlands Trains (WMT) as "woeful", and claimed that they ignored a number of his suggestions to improve their service.

And as a result, he has notified the Department for Transport that unless a reliable service is restored by January 31, 2020, he will ask them to strip WMT, and their owners Abellio, of the West Midlands franchise.

That franchise comprises routes operated by London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services.

In reply, WMT acknowledged the issues that have arisen since the introduction of the May timetable, but argued they are also hampered by incidents outside of their control - such as signalling issues and trespassers.

A proposed solution to bring forward the May 2020 timetable has been deemed impossible due to impact that it would have on the rest of the rail network - but bosses at the rail franchise have stressed they have a plan to improve performance.

Last week, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson threatened to hold a public hearing into the region's railway system, calling it a "danger to public safety".

Today, he welcomed news of Andy Street's statement, but was critical of the time that it took for the mayor to take action.

He also confirmed the public hearing will still take place, and is set to make recommendations on running the franchise, "whoever is running it".

What has Andy Street warned?

In a statement posted on his social media channels, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: "The service being provided by West Midlands Trains is quite simply woeful. The problems on our region's trains have been dragging on for months and despite promises from WMT, shows no signs of improving.

"As many of you know, I have held several meetings with both WMT and their owners Abellio regarding these problems. As part of these meetings I have made a number of suggestions to improve the service you receive. These included:

Bringing forward next May's timetable changes

Ending the skipping of local stations when services are running behind schedule

Freezing January's fare increase until such a time that performance has significantly improved

"Unfortunately these ideas were all rejected, and performance has, despite Sunday timetable change, continued to be unacceptable.

"As a consequence, I like many of you across the region have lost faith in West Midlands Trains ability to run our network under the current system. Rail services in the region should be accountable to the people of the West Midlands. I have therefore come to the conclusion that the Mayor of the West Midlands should take control of, and be the single accountable person for, rail in the West Midlands.

"The Conservative manifesto gave a clear commitment to dissolving power over local rail to Metro-Mayors and I expect this to be honoured.

"Therefore I have already started the conversation with Government about this change and I will be lobbying extensively to implement it as soon as possible.

"However this change will not be immediate, and in the meantime there needs to be considerable improvement.

"The priority is restoring a reliable rail service - like we enjoyed before May - and clearly communicating when this falters. Neither of these things have been happening, and WMT need to address this without delay.

"I have already notified the DFT that if WMT do not restore a reliable service by midnight on January 31 2020 then I will be asking them to strip Abellio of the West Midlands Franchise.

"As a regular train user myself I share your anger at the situation and feel badly let down by WMT. I am determined to take control and bring this misery to an end."

How did West Midlands Trains respond?

In response to Andy Street's statement, West Midlands Trains’ managing director, Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde said, "We recognise that the May timetable has not worked and apologise to all our passengers who have been affected. Last week we brought in extra carriages and made changes to the timetable to improve capacity and performance. Unfortunately, in that short period, we also experienced many incidents outside our control. These included several track and signalling failures – managed by Network Rail, trespass -including a person being struck by a train - and anti-social behaviour disrupting a very busy service.

"December’s changes are only part of a bigger plan to improve performance which we presented to the West Midlands Rail Executive and the DfT last week. We consulted with the Mayor and the DfT extensively on how to speed up improvements already planned. Together, we explored bringing forward next May’s timetable with Network Rail but that was not possible due to the impact on the wider rail industry.

“We have committed to an enhanced compensation package for West Midlands rail users which will recognise the planned national fares increase in January. We are discussing with the Mayor and the DfT how best to deliver this. Subject to approval, we will announce details of the package early in the new year. “

Statement from the Police and Crime Commissioner

(Image: BPM MEDIA)

West Midlands PCC David Jamieson, said: “I am glad the Mayor is now taking this issue seriously and is taking responsibility for the issue.

“It is a shame that it took me calling for a hearing into the chaos, for him to take any public action at all.

“My public hearing will still take place and I expect to make recommendations on the proper running of a franchise, whoever is running it. I am sure the Mayor and West Midlands Trains will co-operate fully with the hearing once they are formally invited in the new year.”

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