West Midlands Railway

[Stu]

Perhaps they will ask you to hold a 'hitch hiker's# style board up as the train pulls into the platform  :D

I meant getting the train to stop when you're on it and want to get off.  :P

Would the driver appreciate having passengers entering their cab with instructions on which stations to call at?

Or perhaps they'd introduce a 'stop' button like on buses? :D

[Tony]

I meant getting the train to stop when you're on it and want to get off.  :P

That was what I was referring to holding up a board with your destination on!

[Pat]

A fair bit of disruption on the Shrewsbury line (due to a fault with signalling between WVH & SHR). But what I can't understand is that WMR cancelled a fair few trains (two of which were mine) but TFW didn't??  My TFW service was only 7 mins late (not related to signalling).

[Tony]

Judging by today's farce, and Saturday's and many before West Midlands Trains must be the most incompetent of all the Privatised rail companies since franchising started.

[Rob H]

From what I've read and heard East Midlands Railway Class 153's 153310 & 153326 are on Long Term Loan to West Midlands Trains.

[midlandred2003]

Last Wednesday my daughter was at snow Hill for 50 minutes 3 trains cancelled and 2 so full she was unable to board along with several others, the service on the stourbridge line has become a bit hit and miss lately.

[JoNi]

Judging by today's farce, and Saturday's and many before West Midlands Trains must be the most incompetent of all the Privatised rail companies since franchising started.

......Control have advised us this train is terminating at Birmingham New Street ask station staff for directions, unreasonably expecting them to know every train movement. Never mind it will all be solved with Williams report!

[Tony]

......Control have advised us this train is terminating at Birmingham New Street ask station staff for directions, unreasonably expecting them to know every train movement. Never mind it will all be solved with Williams report!

I had that at Walsall a couple of weeks ago. Walsall Station staff could not get through to control so didn't even know the train was terminating there, let alone what to do with the disgruntled passengers.

[D10]

Last Wednesday my daughter was at snow Hill for 50 minutes 3 trains cancelled and 2 so full she was unable to board along with several others, the service on the stourbridge line has become a bit hit and miss lately.

The 1633 Snow Hill to Kidderminster which is the 153/170 combo seems to be the worst offender at the moment. I have tried to catch it after work today and 3 days last week and it was cancelled each time due to there being no Train Crew. This means that that the displaced passengers cannot all fit on the next train which is the 1643 to Worcester and have to wait for the 1653 to Stourbridge causing overcrowding on that one and so on and so on.  >:(

[Sh4318]

The 1633 Snow Hill to Kidderminster which is the 153/170 combo seems to be the worst offender at the moment. I have tried to catch it after work today and 3 days last week and it was cancelled each time due to there being no Train Crew. This means that that the displaced passengers cannot all fit on the next train which is the 1643 to Worcester and have to wait for the 1653 to Stourbridge causing overcrowding on that one and so on and so on.  >:(

That's regularly cancelled. Last night the last journey back, 2118 DDG-WOF was started from BSW, and only consisted of 153371 & 153375. 153371 has irritatingly been covered in graffiti

[midlandred2003]

Yes the 16:33 was one of the three cancelled along with the 16:03 & 16:13 you can understand the overcrowding

[RW]

Approx 11.30a.m. 3 northbound Cross City trains stationary at New St. 1 on platform 8 and 2 on platform 9 because there was no crew to take forward the one on platform 8. The leading 6 car unit on 9 was a limited stop to Lichfield, again with no crew and blocking the unit on 9b a stopper to Four Oaks which had a crew. Then the unit on platform 8 left presumably to Soho and was replaced shortly after by another stopper to Lichfield. So still 3 stationary trains with no one able to say the order of departure. In the end passengers for the stoppers gambled and split themselves between 8 and 9b. Eventually the 6 car, with crew, left 9a followed shortly after by the stopper on 9b leaving a considerable number of disgruntled passengers on the 8 stopper. Confused? You should have asked intending passengers what they thought. To say it was a complete shambles is an understatement. West Midlands Railways have a lot to do to justify their franchise.

[Tony]

Approx 11.30a.m. 3 northbound Cross City trains stationary at New St. 1 on platform 8 and 2 on platform 9 because there was no crew to take forward the one on platform 8. The leading 6 car unit on 9 was a limited stop to Lichfield, again with no crew and blocking the unit on 9b a stopper to Four Oaks which had a crew. Then the unit on platform 8 left presumably to Soho and was replaced shortly after by another stopper to Lichfield. So still 3 stationary trains with no one able to say the order of departure. In the end passengers for the stoppers gambled and split themselves between 8 and 9b. Eventually the 6 car, with crew, left 9a followed shortly after by the stopper on 9b leaving a considerable number of disgruntled passengers on the 8 stopper. Confused? You should have asked intending passengers what they thought. To say it was a complete shambles is an understatement. West Midlands Railways have a lot to do to justify their franchise.

Of the last 17 trains on the Cannock line 14 haven't got past Walsall!

[Trident 4194]

Approx 11.30a.m. 3 northbound Cross City trains stationary at New St. 1 on platform 8 and 2 on platform 9 because there was no crew to take forward the one on platform 8. The leading 6 car unit on 9 was a limited stop to Lichfield, again with no crew and blocking the unit on 9b a stopper to Four Oaks which had a crew. Then the unit on platform 8 left presumably to Soho and was replaced shortly after by another stopper to Lichfield. So still 3 stationary trains with no one able to say the order of departure. In the end passengers for the stoppers gambled and split themselves between 8 and 9b. Eventually the 6 car, with crew, left 9a followed shortly after by the stopper on 9b leaving a considerable number of disgruntled passengers on the 8 stopper. Confused? You should have asked intending passengers what they thought. To say it was a complete shambles is an understatement. West Midlands Railways have a lot to do to justify their franchise.

Certainly seems an absolute shambles of a service. Apparently blaming too tight timetabling issues is what I heard on the news

[V89MOA]

Ironically this petition is trending tonight on the main parliament petitions website. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/266516
The sooner Abellio go, the better.