FRUSTRATED passengers voiced their concerns over West Midlands Railway’s ‘failing service’ during a public consultation at Droitwich Spa Railway Station, on July 18.
Representatives from West Midlands Railway were on hand to speak to local people, who felt they had not seen any improvements since the operator’s takeover in December 2017.
West Midlands Railway has pledged £1billion will be spent on improving services in the area, which will include the popular Hereford to Birmingham route.
Coun Alan Humphries, who regularly travels by train, joined residents as they questioned train bosses over the service.
He said: “It’s important the people of Droitwich get to have their say and that’s why I told as many people as I could about this event.”
Coun Alan Humphries encouraging people to speak to West Midlands Railway.
Droitwich resident and long-time commuter Helena Vegun said: “I think it’s absolutely disgusting that the cost of travelling is rising and yet we are seeing no improvements to the service.
“Myself and other passengers are being robbed of our hard earned money, and for what? Just for trains to be delayed or cancelled all the time?
“I’ve been late for work numerous times because of train delays, through no fault of my own, but I’ve always had to make that time back up.
“Our country has some of the most expensive ticket prices and yet we have one of the worst services.”
Droitwich resident Helena Vegun questions a representative from West Midlands Railway.
Worcester Road resident Helena Bailey questioned why there’s never enough train carriages available during peak times.
She said: “I get the train from Droitwich to Birmingham New Street at 8.30am every morning and I’m surprised if I see more than two carriages.
“Quite frankly it feels dangerous, especially in this heat, because people are left standing and squashed against eachother.”
Agreeing, Droitwich resident Kate Brackley, said: “I spend £1.5k per year commuting and half the time I have to stand or sit on the floor.”
It takes two and a half years to build a train according to West Midlands Railway, of which £700million has been invested into making new ones for the area.
The company expects there to be more trains on the tracks by early 2020 and says it couldn’t have done any better, any sooner.
Francis Thomas, head of corporate affairs for West Midlands Railway, said: “We come out regularly to train stations to listen to our passengers because we feel it’s the right place to have these conversations.
“We care about the people of Droitwich and we want them to know that we realise things aren’t as good as they should be at the moment, especially since the timetable change in May – which was the biggest shakeup in more than 10 years.
“But new trains, which will be air-conditioned and have more room for people and their bags, are being built and will be here soon enough.
“We’re carrying an extra 150,00 people than the previous provider and putting on more late night and weekend services than ever before, which I think people are really enjoying.”
Customer feedback can be left by visiting www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/contact-us/customer-relations
