TRAIN operator London Midland is to spend £13 million on improvements to services following news it is to continue its services between London and the North of England until October 2017.

The announcement made today, Thursday December 3, by the Department of Transport, said passengers would have an improved performance, better ticketing, free WiFi and two extra evening services each weekday from London to the Trent Valley, providing an additional 2,300 seats.

There will also be earlier Sunday morning services to central Birmingham and new and upgraded ticket machines at selected stations, with new ‘click and collect’ and contactless payment options and new targets to improve customer satisfaction and train punctuality.

London Midland will also have to meet tough new targets to improve train cleanliness. The operator will also be required to work with the Smart Cities Partnership to introduce smart ticketing on trains, building on the existing Swift smartcard scheme, to provide seamless and more convenient journeys.

London Midland managing director, Patrick Verwer said “Winning this contract is a great endorsement by the Department of Transport of how London Midland is focused on improving our passengers’ journeys. Since 2007 we have invested nearly £300 million in trains and stations. Over the last two years we have significantly improved performance – cutting both delays and cancellations.Twelve months ago we delivered a further £60 million investment in 10 brand new trains. Last year we also introduced a new timetable, offering more seats and services than ever before into and out of major towns and cities and cut our Birmingham to London fares by up to 40 per cent.

"This new franchise offers some very exciting opportunities and will bring benefits touching every element of our passengers' journeys. It will enable us to continue delivering improvements for our customers and, as before, we remain committed to listening to our passengers and working with our stakeholders, communities and local elected representatives to make further improvements in the months ahead.”

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “We have already delivered significant improvements in the West Midlands and surrounding areas – including investing more than £60 million in a fleet of brand new trains.

“Today’s contract builds on this work, and will not only ensure that customers continue to benefit from better journeys, but also support long-term economic growth in the region and beyond.”