West Midlands Mayor accused of electioneering over train franchise threat
A former Wolverhampton Council leader has accused Mayor Andy Street of "electioneering" over his threat to strip West Midlands Trains of the franchise.
Mr Street told the railway provider they had until midnight on January 31 to improve performance – or he would ask the Department for Transport (DfT) to take action.
Now Councillor Roger Lawrence, who stepped down from his role in May last year, has called on the Conservative politician to work with West Midlands Trains – rather than "simply go off on his own".
Councillor Lawrence, who has held the transport portfolio for the West Midlands Combined Authority, said: "Mayors up and down the country are running around saying they want to take on rail franchises – I think there’s some elections coming up.
"I don’t want to be too cynical, but I’d also bet my bottom dollar that none of them actually want to run those franchises in the run up to May, because they’re going to be vote losers. I think it’s a little bit of electioneering.
"This is something that is absolutely crucial to our region, and there is an awful lot of work going on.
"I fully support the mayor in that we need to take action, but what I would urge is that we take action in concert with West Midlands Rail Executive, and not simply go off on his own."
It came after a string of delays, cancellations and overcrowding led to a string of complaints about the company, which took over from London Midland.
Mayor Andy Street said his ultimatum to the train firm was not a decision "taken with politics in mind".
He said: "West Midlands Trains have had months to turn their failing service around, but continue to let passengers across the region down on a daily basis.
"I did not make my ultimatum lightly, and indeed no one would be happier than me to see West Midlands Trains turn it around and restore the reliability to train services across the region.
"But after months of misery enough was enough, and action had to be taken.
"This was not a decision taken with politics in mind, it was a decision taken with thousands of passengers across the region in mind.
"Passengers who, on a daily basis, are faced with trains that are overcrowded, delayed, and all too frequently cancelled."
