Passenger revenue up for London Midland with 75,000 extra seats on the way
TRAIN operator London Midland’s revenue performance has improved due to reduced network disruption in the second quarter, its parent company has said.
Go-Ahead said in its pre-close update for the six months ending December 27, 2014, that London Midland had seen a 4.5% increase in passenger revenue with passenger journeys growing by around 2%.
It said the LM franchise would continue on its original contract terms for the remainder of the year, and then begin a seven-month extension on the same terms in September 2015.
Go-Ahead is also working with the Department for Transport regarding a potential direct award contract from March 2016 to June 2017.
The news of the improved performance follows the announcement by the DfT that commuters travelling between London and the West Midlands ware set to benefit from more seats, more services and new trains from Sunday (December 14). The upgrades follow a £62m government investment.
Ten new four-car trains have been commissioned for the London Midland network, as part of its new timetable.
The new trains will provide an additional 139,000 seats for London Midland’s passengers every week, including an extra 75,000 extra seats in and out of Birmingham New Street.
In addition, there will be:
• faster services between Northampton, Milton Keynes and London;
• more direct trains between Birmingham, Coventry, Rugby, and London;
• more fast trains between Crewe and London; and
• more frequent services between Redditch and Birmingham.
Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “We are absolutely committed to building a world-class rail network that provides more seats, more services and better journeys. I am delighted that London Midland’s passengers across the network are seeing the benefit of our investment.
“This is just one way in which we’re transforming the rail network. Over the next five years, more than £38bn will be spent on improving and maintaining our railways, providing improved journeys for passengers across the UK.”
London Midland managing director Patrick Verwer said: “With more people travelling with us each year our passengers are telling us they want more services, quicker journeys and more seats. We have listened and taken the opportunity with our new trains to make as many improvements for as many passengers as we can. With £62m invested in new trains, this is the biggest change to our timetable in six years.”
In outlook, Go-Ahead said its trading had been robust and its expectations for the full year remained unchanged.
“The group remains in a good financial position with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet, supporting our progressive dividend policy and allowing flexibility to pursue value-adding opportunities both within and outside our traditional markets. We continue to focus on our key strengths of providing high quality, locally-focused transport services,” it said.
