TRAIN operators serving Lichfield are moving into public ownership.
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway will make the switch from Sunday as part of the roll out of Great British Railways.
West Midlands Trains – the parent company of the two brands – will be the fourth operator to enter public ownership under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.
The Government says the move to a “unified railway” would “deliver lasting change” for passengers.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, said:
“From this Sunday, the thousands of passengers who travel with London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway will be using services that are owned by the public and run with their interests at heart.
“We’re working hard to reform a fragmented system and deliver a reliable railway that regenerates communities, rebuilds the trust of its passengers, and delivers the high standards they rightly expect.”
Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, said:
“We are proud to be one of the fastest-growing train operators in the country with millions of passengers travelling on London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services every month.
“We’ve introduced more than 100 new trains as well as upgrading our depots and station facilities. We’re looking forward to opening five brand new stations later this year and we’re also rolling out pay-as-you-go ticketing across 75 locations to enable seamless tap-in, tap-out travel for our customers.
“Public ownership is an exciting opportunity to build on this success through a strong culture of collaboration and integration with the wider family of publicly owned operators.
“Together, we can drive performance by sharing best practice and accelerating innovation and continue to deliver even better journeys for our passengers across the LNR and WMR networks.
“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.”
West Midlands Trains joins Greater Anglia, c2c, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western Railway which are currently managed by DfT Operator Limited.
Govia Thameslink Railway’s services will be next to transfer on 31st May. Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railways services are then expected to follow, with the full public ownership programme expected to be complete by the end of 2027.
