West Midlands Railway joins publicly owned network

The government has announced London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway will be publicly run from Sunday.

The two services, operated by West Midlands Trains (WMT), will join Great British Railways, the new publicly-owned body set to run the UK's rail network.

WMT has become the fourth operator to enter public ownership under the government's Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "The thousands of passengers who travel with London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway will be using services that are owned by the public and run with their interests at heart."

Speaking to the BBC, Alexander said the government had made a manifesto commitment to bring the privately owned train operating companies into public ownership.

She said this was "because we know that for years people have had to put up with delays, cancellations, the frustration of standing on a platform on a Sunday and the train just never arriving".

Alexander continued: "Every year we've been giving up to £150m in management fees to private train operating companies and we don't think that can be justified.

"Great British Railways is a new publicly owned company that will have integrated management of not only the day-to-day running of the trains but also the infrastructure, the tracks and the signalling.

"We think that you can run a more efficient service and also one where you tackle problems of punctuality and reliability."

WMT managing director Ian McConnell described the announcement as "an exciting opportunity".

"Together, we can drive performance by sharing best practice and accelerating innovation and continue to deliver even better journeys for our passengers.

"We are now a step further on the journey to Great British Railways – a railway that we can be proud of and one that benefits the passengers and communities we serve."

Sarah Moorhouse, CEO of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: "Rail connectivity is crucial for businesses across the Black Country.

"Our businesses depend on these services to reach customers, access talent and connect with partners right across the region.

"Having strong transports links across the West Midlands drives economic prosperity - they attract investment, support job creation and help our communities compete on a regional and national stage."

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker said passengers had previously "put up with unreliable and overcrowded trains and a confusing ticket system" by private companies that had "put profit before people".

He said: "This is about more than a badge on the side of a train – and I will be working closely with ministers to improve West Midlands Railway services and raise standards."

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