The Government is forcing Go Ahead to give thousands of passengers on its London Midland route £7 million worth of free tickets after the rail operator cancelled hundreds of services.
The line has been struggling with a severe shortage of drivers over the past few weeks, forcing it to cancel almost 1000 trains since October. Transport Minister Norman Baker said that as a result, London Midland season ticket holders would be given five days’ worth of free travel passes, and the operator would issue 500,000 cheap advance tickets on the line that links Birmingham, Northampton, Crewe and Liverpool to London Euston.
He added: “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.
“Securing these benefits for passengers represents a firm yellow card for London Midland and some financial benefit for those who have been hardest hit by their poor performance.”
The free tickets will be given to all monthly and annual season ticket holders, and weekly ticket holders who have been affected by delays, and London Midland has also been ordered to spend millions of pounds improving the resilience of its service.
Go-Ahead said the £7 million package would compensate passengers for cancellations and delays: “We acknowledge the impact that this has had on our passengers and we have now put measures in place to ensure we have sufficient drivers to operate our services.”
The Department for Transport also confirmed that it was extending Go-Ahead’s franchise, moving the end-date from November 2013 to September 2015, ensuring “that London Midland is given sufficient time to resolve these problems on a permanent basis”.
Go-Ahead, which also runs Southern and South-eastern trains, has been shortlisted for the new Thameslink franchise.
