THE train operator handling services between Worcester and Birmingham could still lose its franchise, despite making improvements set by the West Midlands Mayor.

West Midlands Train had been threatened with losing its franchise if it did not make improvements as set out by mayor Andy Street, who gave them a January 31 deadline. That deadline has passed, with Mr Street warning they could still lose the franchise.

In a letter to transport secretary Grant Schapps, he wrote: “The numbers are stark - more than 1,600 cancellations in the month of December with reliability falling from nearly 92 per cent in May to less than 45 per cent on some lines.

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“This complete meltdown had serious impacts on residents of the West Midlands, people were left stranded on platforms unable to get home to loved ones. They were frequently late for work and often missed crucial appointments. It was a woeful situation, one that couldn’t be allowed to continue.”

Mr Street also said performance had increased, with the number of cancellations decreasing from 1,351 in December to 203 in January, with the number of services arriving on time increasing from 78 per cent on average to 88 per cent.

Worcester commuter Jo Martyr, who regularly uses the troubled services between the city and Birmingham, said she had mixed thoughts about the announcement.

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She said: "I have mixed thoughts about Andy Street's announcement today. Since he made his ultimatum to WMT, he’s never responded to public requests for more detail on what exactly constituted an improvement. Without a clear bench mark or defined measurement tools it felt like his words were a bit of a PR exercise.

"It seemed easy for WMT to ‘look’ as though they’d improved in January as this isn’t a typical operational month and crews are all working excess overtime post Christmas. That being said, I’m heartened that Mr Street has addressed those very points in his letter to Grant Schapps. So yes, WMT are off the hook so to speak."

Since December, WMT have appointed a new managing director, with Julian Edwards succeeding Jan Chaudhry Van der Velde.