West Midlands Trains (WMT) will be required to spend an extra £20m on improving services after ‘badly breaching its performance targets’, but will not be stripped of its franchise.
Officials described the move as ‘a stark warning to train operators across the country’.
The announcement covers West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern services.
The additional £20m will be used for ‘a variety of measures’ including:
- compensating passengers for the poor service by offering a 3% discount on season ticket renewals and offering a 10% reduction in off-peak fares during July and August 2020
- a series of timetable improvements, with wide-ranging changes planned for May 2020 and December 2020
- recruitment of additional drivers and senior conductors
- investment in day-to-day operations, ‘to make services more reliable’
Passengers will also continue to be offered compensation for poor service with discounts on season tickets and off-peak fares.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it ‘has made clear that operators should consider this step a warning that poor performance impacting on passengers and the failure to meet contractual obligations will be met with a firm response’.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘One of my priorities is getting the trains to run on time, and as a commuter myself I understand all too well the frustration caused by endless delays and cancellations.
‘West Midlands Trains have failed to fulfil their obligations – to their franchise agreement and, most importantly, to their passengers. The action we’re taking means they must invest in rapidly improving services so that passengers have reliable, punctual trains they can rely on.’
Julian Edwards, managing director of West Midlands Trains, said: ‘Our performance in the second half of last year was simply unacceptable and we apologise to all our customers for this. Passengers can be assured we have developed a robust recovery plan which builds on our recent improved reliability.’
Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street backed the move.
Officials said that since the May 2019 timetable change WMT’s performance has deteriorated to such an extent that it has exceeded breach level on delay minutes and cancellations franchise agreement targets.
Under the terms of its contract, WMT is required to agree upon a ‘remedial plan’ to ensure that performance recovers.
The DfT said it will 'continue to closely monitor the performance of the operator and ensure it meets its contractual obligations'.
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