COMMUTERS across Redditch and Bromsgrove have slammed the ‘joke’ train service being provided in the towns after signal faults and a fallen tree caused chaos on the railway.
Due to signal faults at Kings Norton, services from Birmingham New Street to Redditch and Bromsgrove were suspended for most of Tuesday.
It was expected that the issues were going to continue into midday Wednesday, but Network Rail engineers resolved the issue in the early hours, meaning trains could run as normal.
But frustrated passengers were dealt another blow just hours later as a fallen tree on the line also disrupted the Cross City Line.
Angry and stranded passengers from Bromsgrove and Redditch took to the Standard’s Facebook comments to hit out at the delays.
Jenny Walker described the situation as a joke and said that people can’t even enjoy a day out in Birmingham anymore due to the trains.
She added: “When the cross-city line from New Street to Barnt Green, Alvechurch, Redditch, or Bromsgrove is cancelled, how are we supposed to get home?”
Marleen Pollet added: “I’m sick of this now. What is the point of buying a term ticket for a college kid if they can’t get home half the time?”
Graham Andrews said: “It’s 2025 and we can’t run trains like the Victorians did?”
Penny Hoy said that getting out of Birmingham wasn’t fun as she couldn’t find any buses to Redditch or Bromsgrove when the trains were cancelled.
A West Midlands Railway spokesperson said: “We apologise to our passengers on the Cross City line for the inconvenience caused by the recent disruption. This was due to a signalling failure on November 11 and a tree on the line on the morning of November 12, following heavy rainfall.
“Providing a reliable service is our top priority, and we work closely with Network Rail so infrastructure faults can be repaired as quickly as possible.
“Ticket acceptance was made available with NX buses, and rail replacement transport was in operation.
“We urge any passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more as a result of the disruption to claim compensation against the cost of their ticket under the Delay Repay scheme.”
Network Rail manages all railway infrastructure and so is in charge of repairs.
A spokesperson for Network Rail also apologised for the disruption.
