Coventry trains cancelled over staff shortages

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More than 30 trains in and out of Birmingham have been cancelled due to a shortage of drivers.

London Midland has cancelled trains on the Birmingham-Coventry-Northampton, Lichfield-Birmingham-Redditch and Wolverhampton-Birmingham-Walsall/Rugeley routes.

The firm said it would try to provide road transport or stop faster trains if there was a "significant wait".

The company has apologised to commuters for the cancellations.

Another 30 services will start or end at different stations.

London Midland services have been hit by cancellations for several weeks.

It has said the shortfall in qualified train drivers will be addressed by mid-December.

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Train cancellations are 'unacceptable' says local MP



A WARWICKSHIRE MP has criticised London Midland over the cancellation of dozens more trains through Coventry and Nuneaton today.

Commuter chaos caused by an exodus of qualified train drivers saw 18 services cancelled on the Coventry-Birmingham line on Tuesday, with a further ten services stopping at different stations.

Train services between Coventry and Nuneaton also saw 14 cancellations.

Marcus Jones, MP for Nuneaton, has said the problems - expected to last until mid-December - could lead to commuters finding other ways to travel.

He has demanded an "urgent meeting" with rail minister Simon Burns MP labelling the disruption "completely unacceptable".

Trains throughout Coventry cancelled due to driver shortage

He said: "I have received a number of complaints from constituents who are extremely unhappy that the Nuneaton-Coventry service lately has effectively become a bus service between the two stations rather than a train service.

"The problems will, I believe, lead to a situation where people have no confidence in the service and will therefore look to other ways of travel.

"The current situation is also very much undermining public confidence in relation to the infrastructure investment that both national and local government is looking to make to improve this service."

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Rail minister issues warning

Rail Minister Norman Baker has warned train firm London Midland about its performance, after further cancellations of services.

Mr Baker said commuters, who have faced weeks of disruption, were not "getting the services they need".

More than 60 services were affected on Tuesday, prompting Marcus Jones, Conservative MP for Nuneaton, to say the situation was unacceptable.

Mr Baker said he would be closely monitoring the firm's performance.

Most of the services affected are to and from Birmingham, but the problems have affected other destinations on the London Midland network.

Fourteen services between Nuneaton and Coventry were cancelled on Tuesday. Mr Jones warned that commuters would turn to other ways to travel.

Richard Burden, Labour MP for Longbridge, Birmingham, tabled a written parliamentary question on Monday asking the transport secretary to make a statement on the cancellations.

Mr Baker said he had spoken to the firm's managing director to "discuss how performance can be improved".

He said in a statement: "As with other franchises, London Midland is required to meet stringent benchmarks relating to their performance and I will be monitoring this extremely closely to ensure that normal services are resumed as a matter of absolute priority."

London Midland has the disruption on a shortage of drivers, but said it was addressing the problem.

The company apologised to passengers and said it would provide road transport where necessary.

It has said the shortfall in qualified train drivers would be addressed by mid-December.

Up to 30 services were cancelled by the company on Monday and Saturday.