Date: 12/12/2017

The new West Midlands franchise officially launched this weekend as West Midlands Trains and London Northwestern began operations. The new operator is a joint venture between Abellio, JR East and Mitsui which won the contract from London Midland in August. Splitting the franchise into two sections means that, while west coast services will be controlled through the usual TOC system, West Midlands Trains will be operated by the JV and managed jointly by West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 councils, and the DfT. After the award of the contract, the new operators announced £680m worth of spending on 107 new diesel and electric trains, with space for extra 85,000 passengers.

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West Midlands Trains and London Northwestern launch first services

RTM