Commuters rail against London Midland performance

Angry commuters have blasted a rail company after a series of problems.

Since the start of the year London Midland trains from Euston to Northampton, which run through Harrow and Wealdstone and Wembley Central, have suffered delays, some leaving travellers stranded for hours.

Robert Williams, of East Lane, in North Wembley, uses the line to travel to Euston most weekdays.

He said: "Three or four times a week trains are curtailed at Wembley Central - the services just stop and don't run through.

"You never know whether you are going to make it in to work two hours late or 45 minutes late. There is no communication and there are never any staff to answer any questions.

"It was always difficult but recently the service has been practically non-existent. It's the new misery line."

The problem has led Anthony Wood, chairman of the Harrow Public Rail Users' Association, to request a meeting with a manager from the company to discuss the situation in April.

He said: "It is a very serious problem that needs addressing.

"People have complained to me about the late running of services and lack of announcements. It has been going on for a couple of months and they don't seem to have got their act together."

The line has been plagued with problems since January, when overhead power cables were damaged, causing widespread cancellations to services in and out of Euston.

London Midland is owned and run by the Go-Ahead group.

A spokesman for London Midland said the company's new timetable could be to blame.
He also blamed the weather and Network Rail, which is responsible for the track.

He said: "Network Rail has been doing a lot of engineering work on the lines, so we have had to work around that. Also the weather had a big impact and we have had staffing issues.

"The service has not been as good as it should be and it is something the management is working on."