Michael Fabricant slammed the performance of London Midland trains in the House of Commons on Thursday 17th January during questions to Transport Ministers. The following is extracted from Hansard:-

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con):

What assessment he has made of the level of service provided by London Midland trains in the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker):

The Department is continually assessing London Midland’s performance, and holds monthly review meetings with its senior management. As the Secretary of State announced on 20 December 2012, London Midland’s performance between September and December breached its contractual benchmark. The Department has therefore negotiated measures with London Midland to ensure that a reliable passenger service is restored, as well as a £7 million package of benefits for passengers.

Michael Fabricant:

If there have been improvements, most of my constituents have not really noticed them. They have been stranded at Four Oaks—and believe me, Mr. Speaker, you would not want to be stranded at Four Oaks—hanging around for an hour and a half waiting for another London Midland train to take them back to Lichfield. How bad does it actually have to get before the Minister decides to take away the licence and readvertise the contract?

Norman Baker:

I shall try not to be stuck at Four Oaks, where there is evidently a problem that limits the ability to run through trains. However, we are continuing to monitor London Midland’s performance, and if it breaches further benchmarks, we will take further action. I can say now that it is expected to make losses for the remainder of its franchise period, and that, in my view, given that it created this mess, it is up to London Midland to sort it out on behalf of the taxpayer.

Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) (Con):

My question is further to that asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) about services on London Midland trains. Staff shortages and other issues have led to an unbelievably poor service, with London Midland’s chief executive saying earlier this week that he was “embarrassed” by the service being offered. What will the Government do to ensure that London Midland improves the service it offers my constituents?

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker):

As I mentioned earlier, there have been discussions between the Department and London Midland, and they are ongoing. London Midland has taken steps to improve its rostering and to recruit more drivers to try to ensure that the very poor service that my hon. Friend’s constituents have had is not repeated this year. We continue to monitor the situation, and we will take further action if necessary.