London Midland

Last updated

London Midland
London midland logo.svg
350252 at Watford Junction.jpg
Class 350 Desiro at Watford Junction in 2011
Overview
Franchise(s)West Midlands
11 November 2007 – 10 December 2017
Main region(s) West Midlands, London
Other region(s) North West, East Midlands
Stations called at178
Stations operated146
Parent company Govia
Reporting mark LM
Predecessor Central Trains
Silverlink
Successor West Midlands Trains
Technical
Length539.0 mi (867.4 km)[ citation needed ]
Other
Website www.londonmidland.com
Route map
London Midland route map 2013.svg

London Midland [1] was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.

Contents

London Midland was created as a result of Govia being awarded the West Midlands franchise on 22 June 2007. This franchise had emerged out of a reorganisation conducted by the Department for Transport, which had combined elements of the Silverlink and Central Trains operations together. London Midland had various commitments to fulfil during the franchise period, including the procurement of at least 37 new multiple units, the introduction of a semi-fast service between London and Crewe, and to invest at least £11.5m into stations. Early rolling stock orders totalled 66 new trains, including two Class 139 Parry People Movers, 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 Turbostars and 37 four-car Class 350/2 Desiros. Further orders and reorganisations of rolling stock would occur during the franchise period, although one effort, a planned year-long trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU on the Coventry–Nuneaton line, had to be cancelled after the prototype suffered fire damage.

London Midland operated local services in the West Midlands and surrounding areas through its City sub-brand. It also provided long-distance and commuter services on the West Coast Main Line through the Express sub-brand from London Euston to and from the West Midlands, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. Additionally, services on the Stourbridge Town branch line operated by Pre Metro Operations were branded as the London Midland Stourbridge Shuttle. The franchise was originally scheduled to expire in September 2015; this was extended to March 2016, and once again to October 2017 in return for London Midland's agreement to put on extra trains and enact other service improvements in this additional time. [2] [3] During July 2017, London Midland's franchise was further extended until 10 December 2017, [4] after which point the new franchisee, West Midlands Trains, took over operations.

History

The creation of London Midland came out of a wider initiative within the Department for Transport to redraw some of the passenger rail franchises that were operating in the mid-2000s. [5] Specifically, it was decided to break up the Silverlink network pending its renewal in November 2007; the Silverlink Metro services were transferred to the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground, [6] while the Silverlink County services were merged with the Central Trains services around Birmingham to create a new West Midlands franchise.

The Central Trains franchise had also been selected for reorganisation, its operator having acquired an unfavourable reputation for poor timekeeping: its best performing period between 2000 and 2007 still saw one in six trains five minutes late or more, [7] with punctuality figures dropping as low as 61% in 2003. [8] The company also suffered from ongoing staff-relations problems which led to extensive and long-lasting cancellations of Sunday services. [9] [10] [11] It was originally announced that the Central Trains franchise would end in April 2007, although it was subsequently a extended until November 2007. [12]

The new West Midlands franchise was tendered and competitively bid for by private companies to operate it. On 22 June 2007, the Department for Transport announced it had awarded the West Midlands franchise to the British transport group Govia; the terms of this franchise included a start date of 11 November 2007, an end date of September 2015, an option for the Department to end the franchise after six years if Govia did not meet performance targets, and the provision of £1.13bn of subsidy over the course of the franchise, starting with £203m in the first full year and falling to £155m by the last. The company pledged to introduce a new semi-fast service between London and Crewe, acquire at least 37 new multiple units by July 2009, and invest a minimum of £11.5m into its stations. [13]

Services

London Midland's services were divided between four groups of routes: London Euston Routes, Birmingham Regional, West Midlands Local and Branch Lines. [14] [15]

London Midland operated several "parliamentary train" stations, where only a handful of trains a day call. These include:

London Midland also operated stations where it operated no services. These stations are only served by CrossCountry, which does not manage any stations. These included:

Former services

A map of the former London Midland network London Midland Rail Network Sagredo new.svg
A map of the former London Midland network
Class 170 at Gloucester. Gloucester railway station MMB 04 170511.jpg
Class 170 at Gloucester.

In December 2008, London Midland discontinued the direct service between Walsall and Wolverhampton. Traffic on the route was low, but growing, and there was a campaign to keep the service. [16] The service was a priced option with the new West Midlands franchise, but the Department for Transport decided not to provide funding from December 2008, and as a result the service ceased. [17] There was only one early morning train on Saturdays from Wolverhampton to Walsall (Parliamentary service). [18]

During December 2008, a two-hourly Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service was introduced to improve transport links between the two cities as well as to provide an increased service at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury. This service was withdrawn in December 2009 because of low passenger use. [19]

Proposed services

In October 2010, London Midland applied to the Office of Rail Regulation to run a new hourly Birmingham to Preston service from 2016 by diverting every other Birmingham to Liverpool train. The Euston to Crewe service would also then be extended to Liverpool to maintain a half-hourly service between Crewe and Liverpool by 2016. [20] [21] In March 2011, the application was rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation. [22] London Midland also sought to run additional evening and Sunday trains between Euston and Crewe, to satisfy what the company says was unmet demand. [20] From April 2012, London Midland began operating an hourly Euston to Crewe service on Sundays. [23]

In order to win a contract extension, London Midland had agreed to put on extra services, resulting in an extra 6,600 seats per week. [24]

Performance

Passenger numbers on the West Midlands franchise from 2010-11 to 2018/19 Q1. West midlands passenger numbers.png
Passenger numbers on the West Midlands franchise from 2010–11 to 2018/19 Q1.

During 2010, London Midland remarked on the high frequency of breakdowns across its fleet, attributing this poor performance as having been primarily due to the outdated rolling stock that it had inherited and was in the process of replacing. [27] In autumn and winter 2012, a significant volume of services suffered cancellations, which was reportedly due to an acute shortage of available train drivers. [28] [29] [30]

Performance since the staff shortages have been varied, reaching a low of 76% for the period between 10 November and 7 December 2013, while rising to a 92.2% for the period 1–26 April 2014. [31] According to figures released by national rail infrastructure operator Network Rail, London Midland's average punctuality since the start of the franchise was 87%. [32]

During September 2013, a new partnership agreement was struck between London Midland and transport authority Centro, which reportedly led to a £10 million investment in station improvements across the West Midlands. 'Transforming Rail Travel' was a deal between the two organisations to continue a two-year arrangement with the aim of delivering further enhancements to services and facilities. [33] During December 2014, the company announced that it would be providing additional seats onboard its trains in its next timetable. [34] [35]

Against a background of ongoing rail strikes nationwide, during January 2017, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced that it would be balloting guards at London Midland for potential industrial action over concerns regarding the introduction of externally-contracted security staff on its trains at the end of December 2016, which the RMT alleged would replace the role of "safety-critical" guards on some services, paving the way for DOO operation. [36] London Midland denied having plans in place to implement DOO operation on its network. Following negotiations with the RMT, London Midland ceased using externally-contracted security staff on its trains on 30 January; as a result, the RMT suspended its ballot on 2 February, averting potential industrial action, before formally declaring the dispute closed. [37]

Rolling stock

A pair of trains approach Stourbridge Junction; both were procured by London Midland after gaining the franchise - a Class 139 railcar on the left arrives with a service from Stourbridge Town, while a Class 172 pulls in with a service towards Kidderminster Stourbridge Junction - London Midland 139001 and 172343.JPG
A pair of trains approach Stourbridge Junction; both were procured by London Midland after gaining the franchise – a Class 139 railcar on the left arrives with a service from Stourbridge Town, while a Class 172 pulls in with a service towards Kidderminster

London Midland inherited a fleet of Class 150, Class 153, Class 170, Class 321, Class 323 and Class 350/1s from Central Trains and Silverlink.

One of the major franchise commitments was the replacement of the existing fleet of Class 150 and Class 321 units. [38] Upon being awarded the franchise, London Midland ordered a total of 66 new trains of three different types, comprising two Class 139 Parry People Movers, 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 Turbostars and 37 four-car Class 350/2 Desiros. [39] [40] [41]

All but three Class 150 units were cascaded to First Great Western (12 x two-car, 2 x three-car) and Northern Rail (18 x two-car) and the Class 321s to First Capital Connect (13) and National Express East Anglia (17). [42] [43] The Class 153, Class 170 and Class 323 units were all refurbished.

The first of the Class 350/2 units arrived in the UK in early October 2008 for testing at the Northampton Kings Heath Siemens Depot. [44] By July 2009, they were all in service.

London Midland was to lose all of its Class 321 units, but a change of plan saw it retain seven for use both on the Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey branch line and on peak-hour express services between Northampton/Milton Keynes Central/Tring-London Euston. [45] [46] [47] The final seven units moved to Abellio ScotRail in 2015/16, [48] [49] [50] and were replaced by seven Class 319s cascaded from Thameslink. [51] [52] [53]

The two Class 139 railcars were due to enter service on the Stourbridge line with the start of the new timetable on 15 December 2008. However, problems in testing caused a delay in their introduction, with a replacement bus covering the route following the reallocation of the Class 153 originally used. [54] The two railcars finally entered full passenger service in June 2009. [55]

London Midland was to lose all of its Class 150 units, but a change in plan saw it retain three Class 150 units as additional capacity, following a statement from the Department for Transport on 10 August 2011. However, London Midland transferred two Class 153 units to First Great Western as a result. [56] The other Class 150 units were transferred to First Great Western and Northern Rail.

During 2011, London Midland announced that it would be procuring a further 18 four-car Class 350 units, eight for itself and ten for sub-lease to First TransPennine Express. [57] In February 2012, it was announced that 20 Class 350 units had been ordered by London Midland. Ten Class 350/3 units entered service with London Midland, and ten Class 350/4 units with First TransPennine Express. [58] [59]

The franchise agreement included the option of replacing the three remaining Class 150/1 in the fleet with six Class 153 units in June 2017. [60] The Northern franchise agreement indicates this option has been taken up, as the London Midland Class 150 units transferred to Northern in 2017. The Northern franchise agreement also ruled out the option of any additional Class 323 units being leased from Porterbrook to London Midland before 1 January 2019. [61] This option was not taken up as Northern kept its 323s.

In July 2016, London Midland and the West Midlands Combined Authority announced that it would run a year-long trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU on the Coventry–Nuneaton line. [62] During January 2017, the trial was abruptly cancelled and the funding withdrawn by the West Midlands Combined Authority as a fire on the trial unit would have caused the trial to be impossible to complete before the end of the franchise. [63]

Fleet at end of franchise

ClassImageTypeTop speedCarriagesNumberRoutes operatedBuilt
mphkm/h
139 London Midland 139 002 (7599560544).jpg Railcar 4064122008
150/1 Sprinter [64] London Midland 150107 at Bedford.jpg DMU 7512123 [65] [66] 1984–1987
153 Super Sprinter 153371 Bedford.JPG 181987–1988
Class 153 LM.png
170/5 & 170/6 Turbostar 170631 at Hereford (33020550490).jpg 1001612171999–2000
36
172/2 & 172/3 Turbostar London Midland Class 172 No 172342 (14152618386).jpg 2122011
315
319/0, 319/2 & 319/4 319433 St Albans Abbey.jpg EMU 471987–1988
Class 319 London Midland Diagram.png
323 Birmingham New Street railway station MMB 22 323220.jpg 901453261992–1995
350/1, 350/2 & 350/3 Desiro London Midland Class 350, 350117, Crewe railway station (geograph 4524686).jpg 1001614772004–2014
110177
London Midland Class 350-1 w-pantograph.png
London Midland Class 350-2 3 w-pantograph.png

Past fleet

Former units operated by London Midland include:

 Class  Image  Type  Carriages  Number  Built  Withdrawn 
321/4 St Albans Abbey railway station MMB 01 321417.jpg EMU 4371989–19902009–2015

Incidents

On 26 November 2015, an early morning commuter service caught fire during the morning commuter rush and passengers had to be evacuated at Lapworth Station. [67]

Demise

In April 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Govia, MTR Corporation and a consortium of Abellio, East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Mitsui had been shortlisted to bid for the next franchise. [68] The Invitation to Tender (ITT) was issued in August 2016 and the franchise was due to be awarded in June 2017. [69] During July 2016, MTR Corporation announced its withdrawal from the bidding process. [70]

During July 2017, the franchise was extended until 10 December 2017. [4] [71] In August 2017, the franchise was awarded to the consortium led by Abellio. The new company, named West Midlands Trains, commenced operations on 10 December 2017. [72] [73]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Operated by Pre Metro Operations on behalf of London Midland; services were branded as London Midland.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thameslink</span> Mainline route in the British railway system

Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from Bedford, Luton, St Albans City, Peterborough, Welwyn Garden City, London Blackfriars and Cambridge via central London to Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Three Bridges, Brighton and East Grinstead. The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. All the services are currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Parts of the network, from Bedford to Three Bridges, run 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverlink</span> Former train operating company in England

Silverlink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the North London Railways franchise from March 1997 until November 2007. At the end of 2007 Silverlink Metro services were taken over by London Overground and Silverlink County services were taken over by London Midland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Trains</span> Former British train operating company

Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)</span> British train operating company

Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Main Line</span> Railway route in Britain

The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 400 miles (644 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Trains</span> British train operating company (1997–2019)

Virgin Trains (VT) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 9 March 1997 to 7 December 2019. The franchise covered long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and southern Scotland, consequently connecting six of the UK's largest cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18 million. It had around 3,400 employees in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crewe railway station</span> Railway station in Cheshire, England

Crewe railway station serves the railway town of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 153</span> British single-carriage diesel railcars

The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter are single-coach diesel-hydraulic railcars which were converted from two-coach Class 155 diesel multiple units in the early 1990s. The class was intended for service on rural branch lines, either where passenger numbers do not justify longer trains or to boost the capacity on services with high passenger volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross-City Line</span> Railway line in the West Midlands, UK

The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for 32 mi (51 km) from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs of Birmingham in between. Services are operated by West Midlands Trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 321</span> British electric multiple unit

The British Rail Class 321 is a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited's York Carriage Works in three batches between 1988 and 1991 for Network SouthEast and Regional Railways. The class uses alternating current (AC) overhead electrification. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 350</span> British electric passenger train

The British Rail Class 350 Desiro is a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Transportation Systems to its Desiro design between 2004 and 2014. All 87 are now operated by West Midlands Trains, having previously been operated by Central Trains, Silverlink, Southern, London Midland, First TransPennine Express and TransPennine Express (FirstGroup).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverhampton station</span> Railway station and tram stop in Wolverhampton, England

Wolverhampton station is a railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England on the Birmingham Loop of the West Coast Main Line. It is served by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains services, and was historically known as Wolverhampton High Level. It is also a West Midlands Metro tram stop.

Govia is a transport company based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in November 1996 as a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%) to bid for rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone railway station</span> Railway station in Staffordshire, England

Stone railway station serves the market town of Stone, Staffordshire, England. The station is located on a junction of the Colwich to Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line, but has platforms only on the branch from Stafford to Stoke-on-Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CrossCountry</span> Train operating company in the United Kingdom

CrossCountry is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Trains</span> Stagecoach Group-owned former train operating company in England

East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Speed 2</span> British high-speed rail project

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England. The line will run between Handsacre, in southern Staffordshire, and London, with a spur to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed railway after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. London and Birmingham will be served directly by new high speed track, and services to Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester will use a mix of new high speed track and the existing West Coast Main Line. The majority of the project is planned to be completed by 2033.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midlands Trains</span> Train operator based in West Midlands

West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Railway (WMR) and outside the region as London Northwestern Railway (LNR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 196</span> British diesel multiple-unit (DMU) train built by CAF

The British Rail Class 196 Civity is a class of diesel multiple unit built for West Midlands Trains by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. A total of 26 units have been built; 12 two-car units and 14 four-car units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Railway</span> British railway company

East Midlands Railway is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.

References

  1. ↑ "London & Birmingham Railway Limited: Company no 5814584". Companies House. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "London Midland rail franchise extended to 2016". BBC News. 10 June 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "London Midland wins franchise extension". Railnews. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 Jones, Tamlyn (17 July 2017). "London Midland wins franchise extension on key Birmingham route". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Rail franchising arrangements" (Press release). Department for Transport. October 2004. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "MTRLaing appointed to run London Overground". TheRailwayCentre.Com. 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Train firm's timekeeping improves". BBC News. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Train punctuality plummets". BBC News. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  9. ↑ "No drivers means no Sunday trains". BBC News. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Driver shortage disrupts trains". BBC News. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  11. ↑ "Rail travellers face disruption". BBC News. 12 August 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "Central Trains franchise extended". BBC News. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "Govia wins franchise for West Midlands rail". The Telegraph. London. 22 June 2007. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Our Network". London Midland.com. London Midland. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  15. ↑ "London Midland Train Times". Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "Save Wolverhampton to Walsall Rail Services". RMT Union. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  17. ↑ "Black Country rail service faces funding axe". Birmingham Post. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  18. ↑ "Passenger Services Over Unusual Lines 2014". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Lack of passengers brings cut to service". Worcester News. 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  20. 1 2 Miles, Tony. "Blackpool through service proposed in West Coast path frenzy". Modern Railways . No. December 2010. London. p. 6.
  21. ↑ "Application for Section 22A amendment track access agreement" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "London & Birmingham Railway Limited: application for approval of track access rights" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "Faster and bigger trains on London service". Lichfield Mercury. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "London Midland welcomes new contract award". London Midland. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "ORR TOC Key Stats". Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  26. ↑ "ORR Passenger journeys by TOC". Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  27. ↑ "Improving our services". London Midland. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  28. ↑ "London Midland staff shortages cancel trains". BBC News. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "More London Midland trains hit by driver shortage". BBC News. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "London Midland driver shortage hits 37 trains". BBC News. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  31. ↑ "Performance London Midland". London Midland. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Performance Network Rail". Network rail. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  33. ↑ "£10m investment in West Midlands transport". Insider Media Limited. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  34. ↑ "London Midland reveals new timetable and additional seating across network". Birmingham Mail. 2014. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  35. ↑ "New timetable and new trains for London Midland". globalrailwayreview.com. 9 December 2014.
  36. ↑ "London Midland train conductors to vote on strike action" (Press release). RMT union. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "London Midland train conductors secure major victory" (Press release). RMT union. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  38. ↑ "Improvements on the way for passengers as Govia wins the West Midlands rail franchise". London Midland. 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  39. ↑ "Parry People Movers for Stourbridge branch line". London Midland News. 14 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  40. ↑ "Twenty seven new trains for London Midland". London Midland. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  41. ↑ "Porterbrook purchases new Siemens Class 350 Desiro trains for West Midlands Franchise". London Midland. 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  42. ↑ "FCC receives its first Class 321". Today's Railways UK . No. 89. May 2009. p. 65.
  43. ↑ "The Class 321 EMUs". Today's Railways UK. No. 154. October 2014. p. 50.
  44. ↑ "Siemens unveils Desiros for London Midland". Rail. No. 603. Peterborough. October 2008.
  45. ↑ "London Midland's 321 trains get a fresh coat of paint" (Press release). London Midland. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010.
  46. ↑ "London Midland to introduce more seats for London commuters" (Press release). London Midland. 1 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010.
  47. ↑ "London Midland keeps seven Class 321s". Rail Express . No. 158. July 2009. p. 51.
  48. ↑ "ScotRail to receive LM Class 321/4s". Rail . No. 766. 21 January 2015. p. 7.
  49. ↑ "London Midland 321s Scotland Bound". Railways Illustrated . No. 151. September 2015. p. 10.
  50. ↑ "LO 321/4 converted for ScotRail". Rail. No. 797. 30 March 2016. p. 26.
  51. ↑ "London Midland takes on Class 319s for Euston work". Rail. No. 779. 22 July 2015. p. 30.
  52. ↑ "Seventh 319 for LM". Today's Railways. No. 174. June 2016. p. 69.
  53. ↑ "LM receives its seventh 319". Rail. No. 804. 6 July 2016. p. 30.
  54. ↑ "Delay to new Class 139 Parry People Mover service" (Press release). London Midland. 5 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  55. ↑ "The fleet's in! Class 139 enters service at Stourbridge" (Newsletter). Parry News. Parry People Movers. July 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  56. ↑ "Freedom of Information Act Request – F0007261" (PDF). Department for Transport. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  57. ↑ Samuel, A. (15 September 2011). "New rolling stock for London Midland & First TransPennine Express". Rail.co. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  58. ↑ "Extra trains and faster journey times will boost capacity" (Press release). Department for Transport. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  59. ↑ "London Midland's new trains bring extra capacity and faster journeys" (Press release). London Midland. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  60. ↑ "London Midland Direct Award Franchise Agreement" (PDF). Department for Transport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  61. ↑ "Northern Franchise Agreement" (PDF). Department for Transport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  62. ↑ Gillman, Alice (22 July 2016). "Class 230 to enter passenger service this year". Vivarail. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  63. ↑ "Funding for D-Train trial withdrawn after engine fire". Rail News. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  64. ↑ "West Midlands Rail Franchise Consultation: Comments of West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport" (PDF). West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport. 16 March 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  65. ↑ "AbRail Rail Databases – Diesel Multiple Units". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  66. ↑ "Operations in the West Midlands". Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  67. ↑ "London Midland train fire: 200 passengers evacuated". BBC News. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  68. ↑ "East Japan Railway on West Midlands franchise shortlist". Railway Gazette International . Archived from the original on 11 August 2017.
  69. ↑ "West Midlands franchise ITT issued". Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  70. ↑ "MTR withdraws from West Midlands bidding". Modern Railways . No. 815. London. August 2016. p. 21.
  71. ↑ "Moments rail passengers will not forget". BBC News. 10 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  72. ↑ "More seats for rail passengers as nearly £1 billion is invested in Midlands services". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  73. ↑ "West Midlands Trains Ltd announced as winning bidder for West Midlands franchise" (PDF). Abellio. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to London Midland at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Central Trains
Central Trains franchise
 Operator of West Midlands franchise
2007–2017		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Silverlink
North London Railways franchise
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.