Go-Ahead to pay £7m for delayed trains
THE GOVERNMENT is forcing transport group Go-Ahead to compensate London Midland passengers for cancelled trains and delays to services last year in a package of benefits worth £7m.
In compensation, London Midland season ticket holders will be given five days’ worth of free travel passes. A further 500,000 cheap advance tickets for passengers on routes serving London, Birmingham, Northampton, Crewe and Liverpool will be made available over the next two years.
Transport minister Norman Baker said yesterday: “London Midland has cancelled or delayed hundreds of services in recent months.
“On repeated occasions, they were not able to provide enough drivers and some services had to be cancelled, with severe delays to services, and they have fallen short both of everyone’s expectations and their franchise obligations.”
Baker added that the compensation represented a “firm yellow card” for the transport company.
The Department of Transport also confirmed that London Midland will hold the franchise until September 2015, to give it time to resolve the issues.