MAYOR Andy Street has issued an unprecedented ultimatum to West Midlands Trains (WMT) following recent problems on the network.

Taking to Twitter with an explosive statement, the mayor told the rail provider they had until midnight on January 31, 2020, to improve performance or he would formally ask the Department for Transport (DfT) to strip WMT of the franchise.

Saying he has ‘lost all faith in West Midlands Trains’ ability to run our network’, the mayor called the current service ‘woeful’ and said he had seen several suggestions to help improve performance rejected by the operator.

He also referenced ‘similar ‘battles’ being fought by Metro-mayors in Manchester and Liverpool, adding that ‘the people of the West Midlands and the North deserve better.’

The mayor’s statement follows a disastrous few months for WMT, in which delays, cancellations and overcrowding have become commonplace on the network, which took over from London Midland last year.

His full statement reads: “The problems on our region’s railways have been dragging on for months and, despite many promises from WMT, show no sign of improving.

“As many of you know, I have held several meetings with both WMT and their owners Abelio regarding these problems. As part of these meetings I made a number of suggestions on behalf of West Midlands passengers to help improve the service they receive.”

"These included: Bringing forward next May’s timetable changes, ending the skipping of local stations when services are running behind schedule and freezing January’s fare increase until such a time that performance has significantly improved.

“Unfortunately these ideas were all rejected, and performance has, despite Sunday’s timetable change, continued to be unacceptable.

“As a consequence, I, like many of you across the region, have lost all faith in West Midlands Trains’ ability to run our network under the current system. Rail services in the region should be accountable to the people of the West Midlands. I have therefore come to the conclusion that the mayor of the West Midlands should take control of, and be the single accountable person for, rail in the West Midlands.

“The Conservative manifesto gave a clear commitment to devolving power over local rail to Metro-mayors, and I expect this to be honoured.

“Therefore I have already started the conversation with government about this change and I will be lobbying extensively to implement it as soon as possible. However this change will not be immediate, and in the mean time there needs to be considerable improvement. The priority is restoring a reliable rail service – like we enjoyed before May – and clearly communicating when this falters. Neither of these things have been happening and WMT need to address this without delay. I have already notified the DfT that if WMT do not restore a reliable service by midnight on January 31 2020 then I will be asking them to strip Abelio of the West Midlands franchise.

“Finally I want to say a big thank you to all of you who have emailed me, Tweeted me, and sent me letters over the recent unacceptable train performance. It is WMT’s failure to get a grip of the situation in the face of your understandable anger and frustration that has led me to today’s decision that they cannot be allowed to continue under the current system.

“As a regular train user myself I share your anger at the situation and feel badly let down by WMT. I am determined to take control and bring this misery to an end.”

In response to the criticism, WMT says it has already consulted with Mr Street and the DfT over speeding up improvements to services. It also says it is introducing more carriages and investing into services to try and improve performance.