Rail operator labelled shambolic forced to give away 127,000 tickets
TRAIN operator London Midland has given away 127,000 free tickets to more than 25,000 passengers as compensation for cancellations and delays last year.
Between October and the end of December almost 1,000 London Midland trains were disrupted due to driver shortages.
Lobbying group The West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport accused the rail firm of overseeing a ‘shambles’ which saw thousands of commuters facing lengthy delays or cancellations.
The firm, which runs services around the Midlands and from the West Midlands to London, claimed that drivers had been poached by rival firms paying higher wages.
The result was furious commuters stranded on platforms across the West Midlands waiting in vain for trains that had been cancelled or which faced significant delays.
The Government told London Midland to offer a £7m package of benefits, which included season ticket holders getting five days of free travel passes.
The firm has been advertising the compensation package on billboards at local stations. Passengers had to apply for the free travel between 5 February and 30 April and the take up has been heavy.
A London Midland spokesman said: “We are pleased that so many people have come forward to claim their free tickets, each of which offers a day’s unlimited travel on our network.”
The firm, which will continue to operate the routes until at least September 2015, said the number of tickets claimed was “close to the number they were expecting”.
