More than 9,000 trains are late in just six months

More than 9,000 trains have departed one minute or more late from a Black Country railway station over a six month period.

The figures come as part of an FOI request to Network Rail which shows that 9,688 services departed one minute or more late from Rowley Regis station out of the 25,098 that were planned to between November and May.

Around 176 services were also cancelled during that time period. The most delayed service was the 9.52am Worcester Shrub Hill to Whitlocks End service on the November 26, 2015, which was set back for 61 minutes.

It comes as Network Rail were criticised earlier this year for its failure to properly maintain railway lines, which has led to a backlog of repairs.

Simon Masters, a spokesman for Network Rail, said: "Any delay is not acceptable however nine out of ten services arrive or depart within five minutes of the scheduled time.

"Network Rail constantly works with train operators to improve punctuality and reliability to provide passengers with the best possible level of service."

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Rowley Regis railway station serves the town of Blackheath and the Rowley Regis area of Sandwell. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line.

Councillor David Hosell, who is cabinet member for highways and environment at Sandwell Council, said: "I think I would find it intolerable if I was waiting there for a long time.

"But I expect that National Rail would be doing their best to look into this. However the sooner we get our new tram lines in then hopefully it will start to ease the situation."

The station is managed by London Midland, who provide the majority of train services. There are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.

Councillor Roger Horton, who is lead Centro member for rail and metro, said: "I find it unusual as it is a ten minute service at the station and myself I have always found it very reliable.

It was revealed nationally earlier this year that commuters are plagued with some of the worst delays in eight years due to a sharp rise in the number of speed restrictions on the railways.