London Midland

For the former British Railways region, see London Midland Region (British Railways).

Overview
Franchise(s)	West Midlands 11 November 2007 – 19 September 2015
Main region(s)	West Midlands, London
Other region(s)	West of England, East Midlands
Fleet size	Unknown
Stations called at	146
Parent company	Govia (Go-Ahead Group / Keolis)
Reporting mark	LM
Other
Website	www.londonmidland.co.uk

A map of the London Midland Network

London Midland Express route map

London Midland is the name of a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd. , it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands Franchise since 11 November 2007.

Their services operate primarily on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston and in the West Midlands region, replacing previous operators Central Trains and Silverlink (both subsidiaries of the National Express Group).

Routes

London Midland's services are divided between two sub-brands, London Midland Express and London Midland City.

London Midland Express

This sub-brand is used primarily for semi-fast services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

• Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street (plus one service a day to Preston)
• London Euston - Northampton - Birmingham New Street
• London Euston - Crewe
• London Euston – Liverpool Lime Street (one direct service per day).

The first route is a former Central Citylink service. The second route is the former Silverlink County route (although latterly the services between Northampton and Birmingham have been run jointly with Central Trains. The third service is a new semi-fast service, which will replace current Virgin Trains services from December 2008. This will coincide with the number of Virgin Trains services calling at stations on the Trent Valley Line (and other parts of the WCML) being reduced.

The brand will also be used for two former Silverlink County services on branches off the WCML, namely the Marston Vale Line (from Bletchley to Bedford) and the St Albans Branch Line (from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey). It is a requirement of the franchise that Transport for London's Oyster Cards can be used on trains between London and Watford Junction. In the past, TfL have expressed interest in taking over the St Albans branch, and installing Oyster Card readers on the stations along it; however this route was included with London Midland's franchise.

London Midland City

London Midland City route map

File:Jewellry Quarter railway station platform - Birmingham - 2005-10-14.jpg

London Midland plan to replace the region’s older trains, including the "clapped out" Class 150 units that operate the Snow Hill and Bedford-Bletchley lines

Parry People Mover of the type intended for the Stourbridge Town line

This sub-brand is used for local and commuter services around the Birmingham Area, sponsored by Centro/ Network West Midlands, that were previously run by Central Trains. These services are:

• Birmingham New Street – Coventry
• Birmingham New Street – Wolverhampton
• Lichfield – Birmingham New Street - Redditch (the Cross-City Line)
• Birmingham New Street - Walsall - Stafford (the Chase Line)
• Birmingham New Street – Shrewsbury
• Birmingham New Street – Hereford via Bromsgrove
• Worcester - Birmingham Snow Hill – Leamington Spa / Stratford-upon-Avon (the Snow Hill Lines)
• Stourbridge Junction – Stourbridge Town (the Stourbridge Branch Line)
• Coventry – Nuneaton
• Walsall - Wolverhampton

Rolling stock

London Midland’s fleet is currently composed of rolling stock inherited from Silverlink and Central Trains. They plan to improve the reliability and interior design the existing Class 153 and Class 170 trains, and install passenger information systems and CCTV on the majority of the fleet. They also intend to use automatic load-monitoring systems to measure how heavily their services are used, for the purpose of alleviating over-crowding.

As of 12 November 2007 there are already several units operating in the new livery and re-furbished green interior, but all of the Class 170 "Turbostar" units on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line still carry their original liveries

In December 2007, London Midland announced two significant rolling stock orders, with fifteen 3-car and twelve 2-car Class 172 Turbostar units ordered from Bombardier Transportation, together with a pair of PPM60 railcars from Parry People Movers for use on the Stourbridge line.

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Cars per set	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
				mph	km/h
Class 150/0 Sprinter	File:HPIM1405.JPG	diesel multiple unit	3	75	120	2	Snow Hill Lines	1984
Class 150/1 Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	2/3	75	120	14 3 car 10 2 car	Snow Hill Lines Bedford - Bletchley	1984-1987
Class 150/2 Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	2	75	120	2	Snow Hill Lines	1985-1987
Class 153 Super Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	1	75	120	10	Stourbridge Branch Line Strengthening of any diesel services	1987 - 1988
Class 170 Turbostar		diesel multiple unit	2/3	100	160	17 2 car 6 3 car	Hereford - Birmingham Birmingham - Shrewsbury Birmingham to Stafford via Walsall	1999 – 2002
Class 321		electric multiple unit	4	100	160	37	Birmingham - Northampton Birmingham International - Walsall London - Milton Keynes /Northampton	1989 – 1990
Class 323		electric multiple unit	3	90	145	26	Lichfield - Redditch Walsall - Birmingham Wolverhampton - Birmingham	1992
Class 350 Desiro		electric multiple unit	4	100	160	30 37 under construction	Liverpool - Birmingham Northampton - Birmingham London - Birmingham/Crewe	2004 - 2005

Future fleet

Class	Image	Type	Cars per set	Number	Introduced	Notes
Class 139	File:PPM 12 b.JPG	railbus/streetcar	1	2	2008	will replace the existing Class 153 DMU on the Stourbridge Town line by the end of 2008
Class 172 Turbostar	Appearance not known	diesel multiple unit	2/3	12 2 car 15 3 Car	2010	will replace the existing Class 150

See also

• Central Trains
• Central Citylink
• Silverlink

External links

• London Midland official website
• London Midland Route Map