LONDON Midland has again come under fire from members of the public, who have branded the town's train service as "dreadful", adding that it had "reached a new low".

The latest criticism comes a month after the Advertiser ran an article with members of the public criticising the service after numerous rush hour trains were cancelled, shortly after the train station had been shut for eight weeks.

It had been closed, and a replacement coach service put on, as millions of pounds of work was carried out to improve the track to allow more trains between Birmingham and Redditch.

London Midland said the cancellations was due to drivers needing additional training after the alterations to the line, and this was a temporary issue, but weeks later and it seems the situation has not improved, to the fury of commuters.

One rail passenger from Redditch, who did not want to be named, said: "Unfortunately, things are not getting any better. The service is dreadful and tonight (Thursday, October 23) reached a new low. The 6.15pm train from New Street was terminated at Barnt Green at short notice - with no opportunity to disembark at Longbridge where there is shelter, facilities and access to buses.

"At Barnt Green we were told the next train was cancelled, the train after that was running late, so there would be a minimum one hour wait, and in any event all trains on the Cross City line are susceptible to cancellation at short notice.

"It was announced that they did not expect to resume a normal service this evening. So the only option was to arrange a taxi/call friends and family or just wait in hope that a train would come and run through to Redditch.

"The most frustrating thing about this was that there was no reason not to run the train through to Redditch. The train was running, the track was fine, the signals were working and there was a full crew. The guard could not say why the train had been cancelled other than there had been earlier congestion at Five Ways.

"I can only assume that there is a financial incentive to London Midland in not running the train through to Redditch."

She added that she wanted something done to make it difficult for the company to "treat Redditch commuters so badly".

Town MP Karen Lumley said: "I am of course concerned to hear that my constituents have been having trouble with the London Midland service. I have sought clarification from Mark Goodall, London Midland’s head of Cross City Services, who has apologised for the problems experienced by customers and explained the situation.

"I feel assured that this was just a temporary glitch and that London Midland have the plans in place to do all they can to prevent this happening again.

"I completely understand the frustration these incidents cause and will be seeking further meetings with London Midland should this reoccur.”

Mark Goodall, London Midland’s head of Cross City Services, said: “I apologise to all our Redditch passengers who were let down by the service they received. An earlier incident at Five Ways, where an tree came into contact with the overhead power lines, did trigger the late running of some services on the route.

“Cross City services were also affected that evening as a result of the challenges that autumn leaf fall poses, where residue from wet leaves creates a Teflon like coating on the railhead and creates slippery rail conditions. For safety reasons, this means we need to run our trains at a reduced speed, which has a knock on impact on the timetable. A temporary ‘leaf fall timetable’ is being introduced on November 3, for six weeks, which builds in more time for the reduced speeds we can travel at; this should make a difference to the punctuality of our train services.

“There is no financial incentive to London Midland for terminating services at Barnt Green. Every time we do this a financial penalty is incurred for the ‘part cancellation’ caused, and all such instances are reported directly to the Department for Transport. We do this purely to get services back on track, as quickly as possible, to minimise disruption throughout the day."