The combined forces to the Dutch and the Japanese businesses will manage services throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands from December.
The Railway services in the West Midlands are to see a financing of £1 billion as London has lost the franchise to run the routes through the area of the West Midlands.
The combined companies of the Dutch company Abellio, the eastern Japanese rail company and the Japanese company Mitsui & Co are called West Midlands Trains. They acquired the 9 year contract and will operate the services from December 10. This award is a first for a Japanese Organisation.
The franchise of the West Midlands comprises a series of services covering the County Cross line between Redditch and Litchfield past Birmingham New Street which transports thousands of people through the town every single day.
This network which has been run by London Midland since 2007 and attained an addition to the agreement last month, in addition works out of London to the West Midlands and north from Birmingham to Stafford, Crewe and Liverpool.
The Transport Department has said today that the new investment will help bring more trains, additional seats and more regular services to the West Midlands as a part of the Franchise reward.
Amid the scheduled changes are the 20,000 additional seats for the rush hour travellers in Birmingham, 100 more carriages on the Cross City line and 80 additional carriages for the Snow Hill line.
In Addition, is compensation if services are overdue by more than 15 minutes, free Wi-Fi of all main line services and trains and stations marked in a locally specified West Midlands Railway livery.
London Midland managing director Patrick Verwer said: “The new franchise will bring much welcomed investment in new services and extra capacity across the network.
“Over the coming months, our focus will remain on delivering the best possible service to our passengers, each day and every day.
“We have created a strong foundation for the new operators to build on.
“During the months ahead we will continue to work with West Midlands Trains, the Department for Transport and all our stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition into the new franchise.”
Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: “We are delighted to have been announced as the winning bidder for the West Midlands franchise, driving growth in one of the most exciting regions in the country.
“We will be investing nearly £1 billion into the network, delivering new trains, better stations and a whole host of other benefits for passengers.”
The West Midlands trains will today be jointly managed by the Transport Department and West Midlands Rail which is a syndicate of 16 local councils including both the urban region and nearby regions which comprise Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
Under the current regime, London Midland reports straight to the Department for Transport.
