A train operator says it is adding thousands of extra seats on a key route as part of a “recovery plan”.
Avanti West Coast says it will put on an additional 70 services across the network, including on the West Coast Main Line which serves Lichfield Trent Valley.
The operator said the extra trains would provide around 40,000 seats a week on the route.
An additional increase in the timetable will also be put in place in December.
Avanti West Coast said the extra trains were not dependent on staff working overtime to operate them.
Barry Milsom, executive director of operations and safety for Avanti West Coast, said:
“We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this is causing.
“The decision to reduce our timetable in August was not taken lightly but our customers and communities deserve a dependable train service, so we’ve been working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way.
“Resolving this situation required a robust plan that allows us to gradually increase services without being reliant on traincrew overtime. We are now in a position to start delivering this incremental increase in services, followed by a further increase in December. We’ll continue to review our timetable beyond December with our industry partners.
“We’re working with our people, their union representatives, and industry partners to match the resources we have to demand, so we can deliver reliable services across our network to all our customers and communities.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this period.”
Barry Milsom, Avanti West Coast
The additional services will be launched from Tuesday (27th September).