Department for Transport (DfT) awarded London Midland the deal for rail services in West Midlands.
Under the contract London Midland will continue to run services between London, the West Midlands and the north-west of England until October 2017. The contract includes £13 million (EUR 18.4 million) package of improvements.
London Midland will include more services, around 6,600 extra seats, free Wi-Fi and better ticketing. London Midland will also install CCTV on cross-city Birmingham services to improve security, and equip station staff with tablets to improve the information given to customers. The operator will also be required to work with the Smart Cities Partnership to introduce smart ticketing on trains, building on the existing Swift smartcard scheme, to provide seamless and more convenient journeys for passengers.
”Winning this contract is a great endorsement by the DfT of how London Midland is focused on improving our passengers’ journeys. Since 2007 we have invested nearly £300 million in trains and stations. Over the last 2 years we have significantly improved performance – cutting both delays and cancellations. Twelve months ago we delivered a further £60 million investment in 10 brand new trains. Last year we also introduced a new timetable, offering more seats and services than ever before into and out of major towns and cities and cut our Birmingham to London fares by up to 40%”, London Midland managing director Patrick Verwer said.
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