Michael Fabricant has written to the Department for Transport and tabled Parliamentary Questions concerning the recent performance of London-Midland trains. “I have recently received a number of complaints from constituents concerning the poor performance of London-Midland including last minute train cancellations and severe delays. This has affected both the Lichfield to Birmingham line and the line from Crewe to Euston via Lichfield Trent Valley station.

“London Midland have told me that these problems have been due to staff shortages which they are hoping to rectify. Nevertheless, this seems to be an issue peculiar to London-Midland in our area so I have taken this up with the Department for Transport. I will continue to monitor the performance of London-Midland and will raise the matter again if service levels don’t improve.” says Michael.

In a letter to Michael Fabricant, Norman Baker (Minister for Transport) has now written to Michael Fabricant and an extract from his letter now follows:

I am aware that London Midland is currently experiencing some significant problems with the availability of train crew, and I completely understand the inconvenience and frustration that this is causing to passengers particularly in the West Midlands.

I would, though, like to take this opportunity to reassure you and your constituent on the matters raised in your letter. Like other franchised operators, London Midland is subject to a stringent performance regime that requires them to meet challenging benchmarks in relation to the level of cancellations and performance. London Midland is responsible for providing the services that they are contracted to operate, including the achievement of the contracted performance benchmarks.

On Tuesday 23 October, I held a telephone conference with London Midland’s Managing Director to discuss their poor performance. I reminded him of their contractual benchmarks and that action would be taken should they be breached. Officials are also working closely with London Midland to ensure that they return to a satisfactory level of service as soon as possible.

The operator, for their part, is exploring a wide range of options to ensure that this is achieved quickly, and has provided a series of assurances that they are taking every possible measure to restore a full and reliable service.

I can assure you that a full range of measures are available to the Department in the event that performance falls below the required standard. Any measures taken would need to be proportionate to the level of cancellations, but can include severe financial penalties and, in the most extreme cases, removal of the franchise.

However, I must be clear that we are some way from such a measure being required, and there is no reason to suspect, at this stage, that such serious action will be needed.

The Department will be monitoring the situation extremely closely to ensure that normal services are resumed as a matter of absolute priority. I hope that this letter provides some reassurance on the matter you raised.