Trains cancelled over broken-down taxi

TRAINS were cancelled after a taxi carrying the ticket conductors broke down on the way to the station - and health and safety policy bans them walking.

London Midland yesterday told passengers it was cancelling two of its services from Birmingham New Street station in the city centre after the breakdown happened during what is usually a short journey by foot from nearby Snow Hill station.

However, the rail operator has said its own safety policy bars the uniformed conductors from getting to the station on foot because they are carrying their ticket machines and cash from the days' takings.

London Midland also added that once the conductors became stranded, getting alternative transport to pick them up was not feasible because the breakdown happened in the city's busy Queensway tunnel, which has no pedestrian access.

According to the company, it runs four such shift change journeys every day where the conductors travel by taxi for safety and security reasons between the city's Snow Hill station and New Street station - the half mile journey takes up to 15 minutes on foot.

London Midland has apologised to passengers for the "isolated" incident which left rush hour commuters with a long wait on the platforms, and said it would be reviewing its procedures in light of what had happened.

The services cancelled were the 17:49 to Hereford and the 17:59 to Great Malvern.

The train company said that while it could not put a number on the complaints it had received over the cancellations it had been "honest and open" when responding to irate passengers who contacted them over social media site Twitter.

The rail operator added it was advising affected passengers to apply for a refund under its Delay Repay compensation scheme.

A spokesman for London Midland said: "We have a responsibility as an employer to these employees' health and safety.

"We cannot expect train conductors in uniform to be walking the streets with the days' takings.

"Equally, if they got mugged and robbed, people would be asking 'why did you let them get out and walk?'.

"The breakdown also happened in the Queensway tunnel and that is not an area where you can get out and walk.

"Clearly, where it happened was not outside New Street station's doors.

"However, it does call into question whether in future there is something more we can do to avoid this happening again

"It would be silly for this to happen and for us then not to see whether there is something we can do because we would not want a repeat of this situation."

By Richard Vernalls, Press Association