Express & Star

'One in five forced to stand' on jam-packed Birmingham trains

A fifth of rail passengers have to stand when travelling on trains in and out of Birmingham every day, according to a new report.

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According to the Department of Transport, 20 per cent of passengers arriving at Birmingham on a typical day last year had to stand.

This compares to 30 per cent of passengers travelling in and out of London, 16 per cent in Leeds and Manchester and 12 per cent in Cardiff.

A total of 125,000 people travelled in an out of Birmingham on a typical day last year, only second to London, which had more than a million travellers a day.

The report said: "The worsening crowding levels show that capacity provision is not coping with rising levels of passenger demand."

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said: "These statistics reveal the unprecedented scale of passenger demand, with journeys doubling in the past 20 years."

The news has disappointed the train drivers union, Aslef.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: "It's long been our contention that privatisation has failed to deliver for rail passengers in Britain.

"We're disappointed - but not surprised - by these figures. Disappointed for those passengers - especially those who are pregnant, or disabled - who have to suffer like this, and for those tourists who come to this country expecting a first class public transport system in a first world economy."

The figures for overcrowding are even higher when looking just at the peak morning rush- hour of 8am-9am.

A spokesman for the rail delivery group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: "We understand passengers' frustration when they can't get a seat and we as an industry are working hard together to tackle overcrowding."

Passengers are now making more than double the number of rail journeys compared with 1994/95.

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "It is a scandal that this is still happening 20 years after the failure of rail privatisation. We need a publicly-run railway with real focus on improving capacity and cutting fares."

Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: "These figures show that our rail services are dangerously overcrowded due to a chronic failure to plan capacity. To be cutting back on train and station staffing against this background is a lethal gamble with passenger safety."

Andy McDonald, shadow secretary of state for transport, said: "Nobody should have to suffer being crammed into dangerously full carriages as part of their daily commute, especially with mobility difficulties."

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