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London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Govia being awarded the West Midlands franchise on 22 June 2007. This franchise had emerged from a reorganisation conducted by the Department for Transport, which had combined elements of the Silverlink and Central Trains operations together. London Midland had various commitments to fulfil during the franchise period, including the procurement of at least 37 new multiple units, the introduction of a semi-fast service between London and Crewe, and to invest at least £11.5m into stations. Early rolling stock orders totalled 66 new trains, including two Class 139 Parry People Movers, 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 Turbostars and 37 four-car Class 350/2 Desiros. Further orders and reorganisations of rolling stock would occur during the franchise period, although one effort, a planned year-long trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU on the Coventry–Nuneaton line, had to be cancelled after the prototype suffered fire damage.
London Midland operated local services in the West Midlands and surrounding areas through its City sub-brand. It also provided long-distance and commuter services on the West Coast Main Line through the Express sub-brand from London Euston to and from the West Midlands, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. Additionally, services on the Stourbridge Town branch line operated by Pre Metro Operations were branded as the London Midland Stourbridge Shuttle. The franchise was originally scheduled to expire in September 2015; this was extended to March 2016, and once again to October 2017 in return for London Midland's agreement to put on extra trains and enact other service improvements in this additional time. During July 2017, London Midland's franchise was further extended until 10 December 2017, after which point the new franchisee, West Midlands Trains, took over operations.
The creation of London Midland came out of a wider initiative within the Department for Transport to redraw some of the passenger rail franchises that were operating in the mid-2000s. Specifically, it was decided to break up the Silverlink network pending its renewal in November 2007; the Silverlink Metro services were transferred to the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground, while the Silverlink County services were merged with the Central Trains services around Birmingham to create a new West Midlands franchise.
The Central Trains franchise had also been selected for reorganisation, its operator having acquired an unfavourable reputation for poor timekeeping: its best performing period between 2000 and 2007 still saw one in six trains five minutes late or more, with punctuality figures dropping as low as 61% in 2003. The company also suffered from ongoing staff-relations problems which led to extensive and long-lasting cancellations of Sunday services. It was originally announced that the Central Trains franchise would end in April 2007, although it was subsequently an extended until November 2007.
The new West Midlands franchise was tendered and competitively bid for by private companies to operate it. On 22 June 2007, the Department for Transport announced it had awarded the West Midlands franchise to the British transport group Govia; the terms of this franchise included a start date of 11 November 2007, an end date of September 2015, an option for the department to end the franchise after six years if Govia did not meet performance targets, and the provision of £1.13bn of subsidy over the course of the franchise, starting with £203m in the first full year and falling to £155m by the last. The company pledged to introduce a new semi-fast service between London and Crewe, acquire at least 37 new multiple units by July 2009, and invest a minimum of £11.5m into its stations.
London Midland's services were divided between four groups of routes: London Euston Routes, Birmingham Regional, West Midlands Local and Branch Lines.
London Midland operated several "parliamentary train" stations, where only a handful of trains a day call. These include:
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London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Govia being awarded the West Midlands franchise on 22 June 2007. This franchise had emerged from a reorganisation conducted by the Department for Transport, which had combined elements of the Silverlink and Central Trains operations together. London Midland had various commitments to fulfil during the franchise period, including the procurement of at least 37 new multiple units, the introduction of a semi-fast service between London and Crewe, and to invest at least £11.5m into stations. Early rolling stock orders totalled 66 new trains, including two Class 139 Parry People Movers, 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 Turbostars and 37 four-car Class 350/2 Desiros. Further orders and reorganisations of rolling stock would occur during the franchise period, although one effort, a planned year-long trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU on the Coventry–Nuneaton line, had to be cancelled after the prototype suffered fire damage.
London Midland operated local services in the West Midlands and surrounding areas through its City sub-brand. It also provided long-distance and commuter services on the West Coast Main Line through the Express sub-brand from London Euston to and from the West Midlands, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. Additionally, services on the Stourbridge Town branch line operated by Pre Metro Operations were branded as the London Midland Stourbridge Shuttle. The franchise was originally scheduled to expire in September 2015; this was extended to March 2016, and once again to October 2017 in return for London Midland's agreement to put on extra trains and enact other service improvements in this additional time. During July 2017, London Midland's franchise was further extended until 10 December 2017, after which point the new franchisee, West Midlands Trains, took over operations.
The creation of London Midland came out of a wider initiative within the Department for Transport to redraw some of the passenger rail franchises that were operating in the mid-2000s. Specifically, it was decided to break up the Silverlink network pending its renewal in November 2007; the Silverlink Metro services were transferred to the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground, while the Silverlink County services were merged with the Central Trains services around Birmingham to create a new West Midlands franchise.
The Central Trains franchise had also been selected for reorganisation, its operator having acquired an unfavourable reputation for poor timekeeping: its best performing period between 2000 and 2007 still saw one in six trains five minutes late or more, with punctuality figures dropping as low as 61% in 2003. The company also suffered from ongoing staff-relations problems which led to extensive and long-lasting cancellations of Sunday services. It was originally announced that the Central Trains franchise would end in April 2007, although it was subsequently an extended until November 2007.
The new West Midlands franchise was tendered and competitively bid for by private companies to operate it. On 22 June 2007, the Department for Transport announced it had awarded the West Midlands franchise to the British transport group Govia; the terms of this franchise included a start date of 11 November 2007, an end date of September 2015, an option for the department to end the franchise after six years if Govia did not meet performance targets, and the provision of £1.13bn of subsidy over the course of the franchise, starting with £203m in the first full year and falling to £155m by the last. The company pledged to introduce a new semi-fast service between London and Crewe, acquire at least 37 new multiple units by July 2009, and invest a minimum of £11.5m into its stations.
London Midland's services were divided between four groups of routes: London Euston Routes, Birmingham Regional, West Midlands Local and Branch Lines.
London Midland operated several "parliamentary train" stations, where only a handful of trains a day call. These include: