London Midland misses out on West Midlands rail franchise
London Midland has lost its bid to retain the West Midlands rail franchise, after the running of the line was handed to a new operator.
West Midlands Trains Ltd – a joint venture between Dutch company Abellio, and Japanese duo East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co – has been awarded the rights to the West Midlands railway network from later this year.
The new operator has promised to invest £1 billion in the network, including new carriages and additional services to alleviate congestion on a variety of lines as well as new direct rush-hour services between London and Walsall.
The plans include pumping £700 million into "new and improved trains", as well as 85,000 more seats between London and Birmingham during rush hour, and free wi-fi on all main line services by the end of 2019. It will also offer compensation when trains are delayed by 15 minutes or more.
Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: “We are delighted to have been announced as the winning bidder for the West Midlands franchise, driving growth in one of the most exciting regions in the country.
"We will be investing nearly £1bn into the network, delivering new trains, better stations and a whole host of other benefits for passengers.”
Under the plans of the new franchise there will be more than 180 new train carriages for the West Midlands, creating more space for people.
This includes investment in 100 new carriages on the Cross City line and 80 new carriages for the Snow Hill line, offering longer and more spacious services.
The carriages for the Cross City line will offer metro-style services with increased space to carry more passengers, and wider doors for quicker access.
Also planned is a regular two trains per hour service between Birmingham and Rugeley via the Chase Line from December 2018.
There will be two morning and two evening rush hour direct services between Walsall and London from December 2018, "helping to unlock economic growth in the region".
The franchise is promising increased Sunday services on the Snow Hill line with the number of trains per hour between Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction increasing from two to six.
West Midlands Trains will take over the franchise from London Midland – run by Govia, which is co-owned by Go Ahead Group and Keolis, and which also operates Southern Railways – on December 10, and will run it until 2025-26.
The trains running only in the West Midlands area will be jointly managed by the Department for Transport and West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 local councils.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: "We want to see a new golden era for our local trains and today’s announcement is an important step towards that.
"Having the ability to use our local knowledge and understanding to shape what West Midlands Trains will deliver for passengers under this franchise has also been a game changer.
"I believe the deal secured today will help create a railway that can not only improve people’s journeys but keep our economy growing and we look forward to working with West Midlands Trains in making that happen."
Wishing the new franchise winners well, Go-Ahead chief executive David Brown said: “London Midland and its people have been part of our Group’s rail business for 10 years.
"In that time we have delivered significant improvements across the entire network which have seen London Midland transformed into an award-winning franchise with high levels of employee engagement and customer satisfaction."
The decision is significant in part because it is the first time a Japanese operator has been awarded a UK franchise.
Mitsui is a massive general trading company with various interests, while East JR runs rail services in Japan, transporting 17 million people a day and running the busiest railway station in the world in Tokyo.
The service will also see £60 million invested in stations across the sprawling network.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is great news for passengers using West Midlands services – with new trains, more space, more regular services and easier access for disabled people.
"We are improving the whole travelling experience with live train crowding information, compensation for people delayed by 15 minutes or more, smart ticketing and better value tickets for part-time workers."
