Passengers left stranded at Stratford station
THE frustration at Stratford’s treatment by train operator West Midlands Railway boiled over again at the weekend when passengers were left stranded because of an issue at… Worcester.
Campaigners have voiced their anger on behalf of those who found themselves left at Stratford station on Sunday with no trains on the Birmingham route and a lack of correct communication about what was going on.
With some travellers having spent the weekend in town and looking to get to Birmingham as the first step in a journey to other parts of the country, the situation was not helped by the station again being unmanned and the information screens giving wrong information.
Those who took to social media and challenged West Midlands Railway on Twitter/X were left unhappy about the company using the Worcester situation as an excuse in response.
One user described the replies as ‘shameful’ and suggesting the person writing them, ‘needs to explain to his CEO why he’s sending rubbish excuses that have no credibility whatsoever’.
And on Monday, chair of the Shakespeare Line Rail User Group Peter Morris, sent a strongly-worded letter to rail bosses ahead of a liaison meeting with parent company West Midlands Trains due to take place yesterday, Wednesday.
He said: “I find it incredible that, just a few weeks on from our previous correspondence on the continuing decline of the performance of West Midlands Trains, I am compelled to write yet again.
“This time we must convey our deepest concerns and frustration regarding the unplanned and uncommunicated withdrawal of train services by WMT between Birmingham and Stratford on Sunday, 11th February.
“We understand that this decision was made as a result of ‘a points failure at Worcester’, a matter that clearly had no operational impact whatsoever on the ability to run train services between Birmingham and Stratford.
“The decision appears to have been made without any consideration on the impact on your customers and without the provision of any explanation or consideration of alternative solutions.”
In demanding answers, Mr Morris also said they were not going to be fobbed off: “Please, we need the facts, without intervention from bland rhetoric or WMT spin - we have simply had enough.
“Customers have the right to expect a reliable and transparent service, the lack of communication and the unjustified service withdrawal on Sunday was a clear breach of this expectation.”
A spokesperson for WMR said: COMMENT DUE BY 10AM WEDNESDAY