News Release

7th May 2003

DISCOUNTS WITHDRAWN ON CROSS CITY LINE?

Angry commuters between Lichfield and Birmingham have again contacted Michael Fabricant over the withdrawal of discounts on Central Trains. In particular, it seems Central Trains will no longer compensate passengers when trains are late. "Following on from Central Trains' unwillingness to provide a service to Lichfield on strike days, this is yet another unacceptable kick in the teeth to Lichfield commuters if indeed the discounts have been withdrawn" says Michael Fabricant. "With the new reduced timetables, train services should be more reliable. That was the whole justification for the change. The withdrawal of compensation would imply a lack of faith by Central in the reliability of its own trains. I shall be contacting Central Trains again asking a clear explanation".

Dominic Prentis, a solicitor who lives in Lichfield but commutes daily to work in Birmingham, has written to Michael Fabricant regarding this.

In his letter, he says:-

"I was particularly concerned to be told this week that Central Trains have now withdrawn the monthly discount given to those with monthly or annual passes. This was previously given by way of reduction on a renewal of pass whenever Central failed to meet its own targets (currently 82% punctuality) and meant that commuters with monthly or annual passes could not claim for compensation whenever a train was over 20 minutes late.

"As the targets have in the last month failed by a long way, one might have expected the 5% discount to be increased to 10%. Certainly, no-one would have expected the discount to have been withdrawn under such circumstances, and to withdraw it without prior notice, consultation or explanation does appear rather short sighted. Even Central's own staff seemed unsure as to whether it actually had been withdrawn when I telephoned to enquire, with one telling me it had not been withdrawn (Paul Cummins) and another telling me it had been but he did not know why (Mitchell Collier)."

Dominic is now asking:

1. Has the discount been withdrawn? 2. If so, why? 3. Why there was no announcement or explanation of its withdrawal? 4. Whether commuters with monthly tickets can now claim for compensation every time a train is late (as provided for by the Citizens' Charter)?