Boris Johnson: 'Bell tolling' for West Midlands Trains after poor performance

Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Boris Johnson said he was looking at "the whole issue" of rail franchises, telling the Commons: "The bell is tolling for West Midlands rail."

He was responding to a question from Tory MP Harriett Baldwin, who called for a Government probe into the "absolutely woeful" performance of West Midlands Trains.

WATCH the question during PMQs:

It follows the intervention of West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who said Abellio – the company that runs West Midlands Trains – should be stripped of its franchise if improvements are not evident by the end of the month.

He said he had "lost all faith" in the company's ability to run services following a disastrous few months which has been dominated by delays, cancellations and overcrowding.

During PMQs, Mr Johnson said the Government would address the whole issue of rail franchising, with a number of firms across the country coming under fire in recent months.

They include Northern Rail, which is losing its franchise due to what Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described as a "completely unacceptable" level of performance.

Asked if he would commit to devolving powers over rail franchises to regions, the PM said: "We are looking at the whole way the franchising system operates."

Bosses at West Midlands Trains have admitted that a new timetable introduced last year has not worked.

They also claimed that the company had experienced "many incidents outside our control".

Mr Street has been a vocal critic of West Midlands Trains – which runs West Midlands Railway services through the Black Country – over recent weeks and has held a number of meetings with executives.

He said he had been frustrated that his demands to improve services had not been met and that performance had continued to be "unacceptable".

The firm has announced it is freezing the cost of season tickets this year in a bid to compensate passengers for poor performance.