No end in sight to overcrowded train service

Problems with overcrowding on trains in Shropshire which has seen one service being dubbed the "sardine express" looks unlikely to be sorted out before 2015, it was revealed today.

Wellington Town Council held a meeting with train company London Midland to get answers about rush-hour crowds on trains travelling through the county to Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

But Nicola Moss, from London Midland, said the company could not sort out the problem immediately because it is in a contract with the Government to carry out the service only until 2015, with no guarantee the contract will continue.

Mrs Moss said it would therefore be financially impossible for the company to lay on extra carriages because it would not be able to claw back enough revenue to pay for them between now and 2015.

Councillor Denis Allen, from Wellington Town Council, said it was a problem faced by all operators of the line and said it was not a direct fault of the train company.

Mrs Moss said: "We don't have any spare rolling stock (extra carriages) so there's nothing that we are not putting on our services, everything we have is in use on a daily basis.

"The costs are very high in purchasing rolling stock and as a franchise we run until 2015 and for new rolling stock we would need further funding from the Government.

"We are working to see if a business case can be made but we will have to wait and see what happens after spending review plans."

On the current overcrowding she added: "Now we have systems in place to count the number of passengers and we do our best to match the number of carriages we have to the busiest services so we can do the best we can."

Both Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard and Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski have raised concerns over the packed train carriages.

Mr Kawczynski called for a debate in the House of Commons about the issue while it was Mr Pritchard who coined the "sardine express" phrase to a transport select committee when he called for a limit on the number of passengers in carriages, which train operators have no legal obligation to meet.

Mrs Moss added the company was announced as the most improved operator this year and said it is working with the Department of Transport in a bid to secure more funding for rolling stock.