Press release -
Coronavirus: West Midlands Railway confirms rail replacement for Hereford-Worcester passengers
West Midlands Railway has confirmed rail replacement buses will be in operation at all stations between Hereford and Worcester when its new timetable begins on Monday.
This week the operator announced that amid falling passenger numbers and increased numbers of rail staff self-isolating it was introducing a new timetable with reduced services on some routes.
The new schedule sees West Midlands Railway train services withdrawn entirely at Hereford, Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern and Malvern Link but the operator has today confirmed arrangements for road replacement services to operate along the route.
Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway, said:
"I apologise to any affected key workers that it has not been possible to maintain a train service at every station on our network. We are listening to feedback and I am pleased to confirm details of the rail replacement transport we will provide from next week. We will monitor its usage closely.
“Train drivers and guards are not immune from Covid-19 and with increasing numbers of railway workers going into self-isolation I am sure our customers will understand the difficult decisions we have faced in building a timetable which keeps as many key workers moving as possible."
The replacement bus timetables are currently being finalised and will be available online at wmr.uk/coronavirus from tomorrow (Saturday). The new rail timetable is online now.
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About West Midlands Trains
For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email press.office@wmtrains.co.uk
West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.
- London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.
- West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.
For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk
The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.
West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 80 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.
The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com
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