Train disruption to continue until December

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DISRUPTION to train services from Redditch to Birmingham is expected to continue until the middle of December.

A shortage of drivers means London Midland is having problems staffing a full timetable. The company says it has taken on extra drivers but delays will continue while they are fully trained up. The situation is expected to be resolved by December 9.

In the meantime the company has taken to providing regular updates on its website with details of services expected to subject to cancellations or altered published at 5pm the day before.

On Monday, 27 services on the Redditch to Lichfield Cross-City Line were affected and another 13 are so far predicted to be hit on Tuesday (October 23).

Over the weekend 30 services in and out of the city were subject to cancellations or delays while another 30 services started or ended at different stations.

In a statement on its website the company said: "We have a dedicated team focusing on delivering the train service on a day by day basis and as a result we have been able to run a near-normal timetable on all but a few days, compensating for the shortage with drivers who have volunteered for overtime.

"In addition, our people have agreed to a number of changes to the way we resource our train services in the short-term, which will further reduce the need to cancel trains."

The firm has also pledged to provide road transport or to slow down faster trains and get them to stop at intermediate stations if a cancellation leads to a significant wait for the next train.

Redditch MP Karen Lumley said she had contacted the Department of Transport to ask what financial penalties could be imposed on London Midland for its poor performance.

"This is disgusting and just not good enough. The people of Redditch expect a better service, they pay enough for it, and this could cost jobs. People are relying on these services to get to places."

The following list of trains are cancelled on Tuesday, October 23, unless otherwise stated:

Lichfield-Redditch via Birmingham New St

from Redditch/Longbridge

0654 Longbridge-Four Oaks terminates at New St

1002 Longbridge-Lichfield

1057 Redditch-Lichfield terminates at Birmingham New St

1322 Longbridge-Four Oaks starts at New St

1604 Longbridge-Lichfield terminates at New St

1827 Redditch-Lichfield starts at New St

2157 Redditch-Lichfield terminates at New St

from Lichfield/Four Oaks

0747 Four Oaks-Redditch starts at New St

0850 Lichfield-Longbridge terminates at New St

1113 Lichfield-Longbridge starts at New St

1213 Lichfield-Longbridge terminates at New St

1705 Lichfield-Redditch

2336 Blake St-Birmingham New St

No cancellations are expected as a result of the shortage on Wednesday (October 24).

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