Complaint to London Midland
Nuneaton, Bedworth and Hinckley Rail User Group, on behalf of our members, wish to register the following complaint regarding the London Midland service from Nuneaton along the Trent Valley route. Our complaint is detailed in the following points
The use of high density Desiro trains instead of low density Desiro trains.
In a meeting with London Midland representatives in September 2008, we were given the commitment that high density Desiro trains would not be used for the majority of journeys through Nuneaton. This commitment was sought by us due to the fact that the high density Desiro units are not suitable for long distance travel. This is not just our view, we know that the industry know this as a fact too. They have 5 across seating, less leg room, little room for luggage and no tables, they are designed for short distance commuting and not suitable for long distances. We have been monitoring the use of the high density Desiros over the last few months and have found that in contravention of your commitment, the majority of journeys are undertaken by high density stock. There is also often frequent overcrowding, particularly when the 1546 from Euston ends up being a 4 car unit. The mixture of people travelling long distances with large bags does not mix with the cramped conditions and high volumes of passengers going to Watford, Milton Keynes and Northampton. We require London Midland to account for this failure to live up it’s promises and confirm how and when this will be rectified.
The lack of catering on Desiro services.
For a service that covers a distance of nearly 200 miles and 3hr 16minutes, it is shocking to think that London Midland does not provide any catering at all. Again, this in contravention of a commitment made by London Midland in September 2008 and is also a franchise commitment. We require London Midland to account for this failure to live up it’s promises and franchise commitment and confirm how and when this will be rectified.
Failure to provide additional car parking at Nuneaton.
We believe that it is a franchise commitment for London Midland to increase car parking capacity at Nuneaton. On several occasions we have been promised that the work to enlarge the car park would start soon, nothing has been done. We require London Midland to account for this failure to live up it’s promises and confirm how and when this will be rectified.
Poorly assigned or non-existent seat reservations.
We have had numerous reports of seat reservations not being applied or being applied to the wrong seats, the latter seems to be caused by the use of high density stock when seats have been reserved with a table requested, but no table existing! A number of our members, having spoken to your staff, understand that this is a regular occurrence and the staff think it’s impractical anyway.
Lack of customer service when the last London Midland service from London is cut short at Northampton.
We have had three incidents reported to us that when the 1824 service has been cut short at Northampton, any passengers to the north were left to their own devices to get home. We suspect that there may have been more incidents such as this and ask London Midland to confirm the number of times any north or southbound service has been shortened and what arrangements London Midland will make in these circumstances.
We look forward to a full and comprehensive response to our points above within 28 days and would welcome the opportunity to discuss these face to face, if required. Overall, we feel that the service little short of a disgrace, the only plus point being the reasonable availability of cheaper fares.
Regards
Mark Whitelegg
On behalf of
Nuneaton, Bedworth and Hinckley Rail Users Group
CC : Passenger Focus
Bill Olner (MP)
Marcus Jones (Nuneaton and Bedworth Council)
Alan Farnell (Warwickshire County Council)
Department for Transport
Jayne Innes