London Midland
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| Franchise(s): | West Midlands 11 November 2007 – 19 September 2015 |
| Main region(s): | West Midlands, London |
| Other region(s): | West of England, East Midlands |
| Fleet size: | 157 (soon to be 191) [1] |
| Stations called at: | 146 [2] |
| National Rail abbreviation: | LM |
| Parent company: | Govia (Go-Ahead Group / Keolis) |
| Web site: | www.londonmidland.co.uk |
London Midland is the name of a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd. [3], it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands Franchise since 11 November 2007.
Their services operate primarily on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston and in the West Midlands region, replacing previous operators Central Trains and Silverlink (both subsidiaries of the National Express Group).
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[edit] Routes
London Midland's services are divided between two sub-brands[4], London Midland Express and London Midland City.
[edit] London Midland Express
This sub-brand is used primarily for semi-fast services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
- Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street (plus one service a day to Preston) – the former Central Citylink service.
- London Euston - Northampton - Birmingham New Street – the former Silverlink County route (although latterly the services between Northampton and Birmingham had been run jointly with Central Trains).
- London Euston - Crewe – a new semi-fast service, which will replace current Virgin Trains services from December 2008. This will coincide with the number of Virgin Trains services calling at stations on the Trent Valley Line (and other parts of the WCML) being reduced.[citation needed]
- London Euston – Liverpool Lime Street – one direct service per day.
The brand is also used for two former Silverlink services on branches off the WCML, namely the Marston Vale Line (from Bletchley to Bedford) and the St Albans Branch Line (from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey). It is a requirement of the franchise that Transport for London's Oyster Cards can be used on trains between London and Watford Junction. In the past, TfL have expressed interest in taking over the St Albans branch, and installing Oyster Card readers on the stations along it;[5] however this route was included within the London Midland franchise.
[edit] London Midland City
This sub-brand is used for local and commuter services around the Birmingham / Coventry Area, sponsored by Centro/ Network West Midlands, that were previously run by Central Trains. These services are:
- Birmingham New Street – Northampton
- Birmingham New Street – Wolverhampton
- Lichfield – Birmingham New Street - Redditch (the Cross-City Line)
- Birmingham New Street - Walsall - Stafford (the Chase Line)
- Birmingham New Street – Shrewsbury
- Birmingham New Street – Hereford via Bromsgrove
- Worcester - Birmingham Snow Hill – Leamington Spa / Stratford-upon-Avon (the Snow Hill Lines)
- Stourbridge Junction – Stourbridge Town (the Stourbridge Branch Line)
- Coventry – Nuneaton
- Walsall - Wolverhampton
[edit] Smaller stations
London Midland operate several "limited stop" stations, where only a handful of trains a day stop:
These include [6]:
- Hartlebury; six trains a day Monday-Saturday, peak only, no Sunday service.
- Bordesley, one train per day Monday-Friday (a parliamentary train), football specials on Saturday, no Sunday service.
[edit] New services from December 2008
From December, the competition of the West Coast Mainline upgrade and the Trent Valley upgrading will deliver the following enhancements to London Midland services (in addition to the Virgin Trains enhancements):[7]
- New hourly service London-Northampton-Rugby-Nuneaton-Stafford-Stoke-Crewe;
- Full half hourly service between Liverpool and Birmingham;
- Direct services between London Euston and Birmingham via Northampton;
- Half hourly service Birmingham-Northampton;
- Faster timings for services between Northampton and London Euston;
- Faster timings for services on the Coventry-Wolverhampton and the Birmingham-Walsall-Rugeley route.
These services will utilise the new expanded fleet of Desiro trains that are to be delivered soon.
[edit] Performance
The first performance figures for London Midland to be released by the ORR for the second half of the third quarter of the financial year 2007/8 are 85.4% PPM.[8]
[edit] Rolling stock
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[edit] Current fleet
London Midland’s fleet is currently composed of rolling stock inherited from Silverlink and Central Trains. They plan to improve the reliability and interior design the existing Class 153 and Class 170 trains, and install passenger information systems and CCTV on the majority of the fleet. They also intend to use automatic load-monitoring systems to measure how heavily their services are used, for the purpose of alleviating over-crowding.
As of 12 November 2007 there are already several units operating in the new livery and re-furbished green interior, but all of the Class 150 "Sprinter" units still carry their original liveries. The 150s in fact, do not have any branding any more. When Govia took over, they were more intent with removing "Central Trains" from units, than applying their name.
| Class | Image | Type | Cars per set | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 150/0 Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 3 | 75 | 120 | 2 | Snow Hill Lines | 1984 |
| Class 150/1 Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 2/3 | 75 | 120 | 14 3 car 10 2 car |
Snow Hill Lines Bedford - Bletchley |
1984-1987 |
| Class 150/2 Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 2 | 75 | 120 | 2 | Snow Hill Lines | 1985-1987 |
| Class 153 Super Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 1 | 75 | 120 | 10 | Stourbridge Branch Line Bedford - Bletchley Coventry - Nuneaton Strengthening of any diesel services |
1987 - 1988 |
| Class 170 Turbostar |  |
diesel multiple unit | 2/3 | 100 | 160 | 17 2 car 6 3 car |
Hereford - Birmingham Birmingham - Shrewsbury Birmingham to Stafford via Walsall |
1999 – 2002 |
| Class 321/4 |  |
electric multiple unit | 4 | 100 | 160 | 37 | Birmingham - Northampton Birmingham International - Walsall London - Milton Keynes /Northampton |
1989 – 1990 |
| Class 323 |  |
electric multiple unit | 3 | 90 | 145 | 26 | Lichfield - Redditch (The Cross City Line) Walsall - Birmingham Wolverhampton - Birmingham |
1992 |
| Class 350/1 Desiro |  |
electric multiple unit | 4 | 100 | 160 | 30 | Liverpool - Birmingham Northampton - Birmingham London - Birmingham/Crewe |
2004 - 2005 |
[edit] Future fleet
As part of its franchise agreement, London Midland is committed to a major programme of new rolling stock. In its initial plan, it announced that it would bring into service an additional 37 Class 350 units from Siemens which it plans to use in replacing its Class 321s. After beginning its operations, London Midland announced two further orders, with fifteen 3-car and twelve 2-car Class 172 Turbostar units ordered from Bombardier Transportation, together with a pair of Class 139 railcars from Parry People Movers for use on the Stourbridge line.[9][10] When the two Class 139's enter service on the Stourbridge town line, the current Class 153 will be moved to the Bedford - Bletchley line. These will replace Class 150s on this route; the remainder of London Midland's Class 150s will be replaced like for like by the Class 172s. Under the government's rolling stock plan, the Class 150s will be cascaded to other TOC's.
As part of the Department for Transport's rolling stock plan in January 2008, they announced that the current fleet of 17 Class 323s currently operated by Northern Rail would be cascaded to London Midland in order to form a uniform fleet with 24 new units being ordered for the North West operation[11].
| Class | Type | Cars per set | Number | Introduced | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 139 | railcar diesel multiple unit |
1 | 2 | 2008 | Will replace the existing Class 153 DMU on the Stourbridge Town line by the end of 2008[12] |
| Class 172/2 Turbostar | diesel multiple unit | 2 | 12 | 2010 | Will replace the existing Class 150[13] |
| Class 172/3 Turbostar | diesel multiple unit | 3 | 15 | 2010 | Will replace the existing Class 150[14] |
| Class 323 | electric multiple unit | 3 | 17 | Cascaded from Northern Rail | |
| Class 350/2 Desiro | electric multiple unit | 4 | 37 | 2008 | Will replace Class 321 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ See fleet table
- ^ London Midland Website Accessed 12 September 2007
- ^ WebCHeck - Select and Access Company Information
- ^ London Midland Plans: Sub-brands 25 October 2007
- ^ alwaystouchout.com - London Rail Authority
- ^ London Midland's route map and timetables
- ^ London Midland News
- ^ ORR statistics
- ^ Twenty seven new trains for London Midland. London Midland (December 12, 2007).
- ^ Parry People Movers for Stourbridge branch line. London Midland (December 13, 2007).
- ^ DfT rolling stock plan January 2008 - Indicative Number of Additional Vehicles required by English TOCs by 2014
- ^ Parry People Movers railcars selected for West Midlands branch line. Parry People Movers (June 21, 2007).
- ^ Govia picked to run West Midlands franchise. Railnews (June 21, 2007).
- ^ Govia picked to run West Midlands franchise. Railnews (June 21, 2007).
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Central Trains Central franchise |
Operator of West Midlands franchise 2007 - present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Silverlink North London Railways franchise |
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