Christopher Pincher Writes to FirstGroup Chief Executive

Christopher Pincher, Member of Parliament for Tamworth, has written to the Chief Executive of FirstGroup, Tim O’Toole, seeking assurances about the level of service the company will provide its customers when it takes responsibility from Virgin for the West Coast Main Line franchise.

FirstGroup won the competitive tender offered by the Department for Transport in August.  That decision means commuters travelling from Tamworth’s train station to London Euston will no longer use Virgin services.  Midland Mainline services are unaffected.

Mr. Pincher wrote to Mr O’Toole on behalf of constituents seeking more information on service levels and pricing plans.  He has written separately seeking clarification on their expectations for future capacity on the West Coast Main Line.

Mr Pincher commented, “As somebody who uses the West Coast Main Line I am very much aware of its importance to many commuters from Tamworth and the surrounding areas.  I want to know more about FirstGroup’s plans for train punctuality, cleanliness, level of service and price.  I have raised this with the Chief Executive.  I know people have raised concerns about the same mistakes on the First Capital Connect Line and I want to be sure they company is confident they will not be repeated.”