Amanda Milling, Member of Parliament for Cannock Chase, has experienced first-hand the misery experienced by Chase Line users on a fact-finding mission.
Following the debate on the Chase Line last week the Cannock Chase MP used recess to experience the service first-hand. Accompanied by Cannock Chase District Councillor, Graham Burnett, Amanda Milling boarded the 5.58am train from Rugeley Town train station heading towards Birmingham New Street.
The Cannock Chase MP arrived at a packed station, due to shift changes at Amazon. The MP saw what she described as chaotic scenes at the station which only worsened through the journey.
Amanda Milling said: “I had to experience the service for myself to get a sense of the problems that many constituents have complained to me about. Whilst I have used the service regularly myself, this was the first time I had used the 5.58am train. I was completely shocked by what I saw.”
The Cannock Chase MP has written a diary of her journey that she will be sending to London Midland as another example of how residents are being failed by the service on the Chase Line.
Amanda Milling added: “The train was only made up of two carriages and as a result the train was struggling to even provide standing room, let alone seats. Throughout the journey to and from Birmingham tickets weren’t checked at all. The scenes at Rugeley Town station were best described as chaotic and unsafe with passengers barging and physically tackling each other to get onto the train. How no-one got hurt amazed me. The over-crowding issue also seems to be having an impact on the punctuality of the service too. With so many people on the trains it is taking a long time for passengers to get on and off the train, meaning delays to the service and subsequent services back to Cannock Chase.”
In her debate in Parliament last week the Cannock Chase MP called on London Midland to address the issues of over-crowding on these peak time services. Having experienced the service first-hand Amanda Milling said: “ London Midland need to provide trains with more carriages on the peak time trains. I have seen and have travelled on many trains during the day on the Chase Line made up of more than two carriages, so I can’t help but wonder why the busiest train is only made up of two coaches.”
Councillor Graham Burnett said: “This train is a frequent commute for me and Amanda saw a typical example of that service. The train is often full before it even gets to Hednesford where I board and is always very overcrowded. This issue has only been worsened by the increase in staff at Amazon, due to the lack of carriages provided by London Midland. Something needs to be done by them.”
Amanda Milling MP will be meeting with representatives from London Midland in the next week to discuss the service issues faced by Chase Line passengers.
The Cannock Chase MP’s experience of the service is below.
Chase Line Diary – Amanda Milling
- Went to catch 5.58am from Rugeley Town
- On approaching station car park the road was packed with Amazon staff walking to station many of whom were blocking the road and making it incredibly difficult to drive up the road – a danger for the pedestrians and drivers.
- When I arrived at the station, around 5 minutes before the planned departure, the platform was totally full of Amazon staff. It was not possible to get near the platform.
- When the train arrived it only had 2 carriages. I seriously could not believe the experience of getting on the train. At first I tried to get on the first carriage but the Amazon staff were literally barging, pushing, physically tackling each other to get on the train. What I witnessed was a scene more similar to the bad old days of football riots.
- Whilst the crowd was trying to get into the first carriage, one door was shut to that carriage with people still trying to get in. How no one got trapped is amazing. This then led to passengers having to walk down the train to get onto another carriage.
- This whole situation was dangerous, and if something is not done about it there will be a serious accident or injury. I was actually fearful of my safety as I was trying to board the train.
- By the time I eventually did get the train there was not a seat in sight and there were people standing throughout, some with bikes, exacerbating the issue and blocking access to any areas where you could stand.
- The problems of overcrowding just got worse as we travelled up the line and commuters started to join the train. It was barely possible to move such was the numbers of people standing in the aisles and doorways.
- The service was running late, which was due to the time it was taking people to board/disembark the train. The lack of sufficient carriages is not only causing serious overcrowding but also leading to delays in the service and subsequent services
- A small number of Amazon staff got off at Walsall then stations closer to Birmingham such as Perry Barr.
- At no point did an inspector check any tickets. In fact, even on my return journey which was on a quiet train tickets were not inspected.
- Also reported that recently one of the commuter trains was cancelled and as a result 2 trains worth of passengers had to pack into one service – which as I have seen for myself is totally overcrowded already.
Issues this experience highlighted for Amanda:
- Number of carriages totally inadequate for the level of use in peak hours and where Amazon staff are using given shift changes.
- Over-crowding only going to get worse as seasonal staff numbers continue to increase in run up to Christmas
- Safety issues relating to this in terms of getting on and off the train:
- At Rugeley Town where Amazon staff are boarding
- Along the line was overcrowding is making very hard to get on and off the train
- Delays resulting from time taken for passengers to get on and off the train
- Lack of ticket inspections