Rail disruption amid train fire and strike action

Rail commuters are set for disruption after strike action on services across the West Midlands coincided with the evacuation of Birmingham New Street station following a fire on board a train.

Rail services in and out of New Street were suspended for a time during rush hour as a result of the blaze.

The incident was resolved shortly before 08:00 BST, National Rail said, but disruption was expected throughout the morning.

It comes amid a reduced timetable on West Midlands Railway (WMR) services across the region due to industrial action by TSSA union members.

They are staging a walkout over rest day working payments.

It means a "limited service" is in operation across WMR services on a reduced timetable throughout the day, as well as no trains running after 19:00 BST on Friday and starting after 07:00 on Saturday.

WMR said it was doing all it could to "minimise the impact as far as possible", advising customers to only travel if necessary.

Routes with a limited service on those days are:

Cross City Line (Lichfield Trent Valley to Redditch / Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street) – two trains per hour.

Wolverhampton to Walsall via Birmingham New Street – one train per hour.

Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham International via Birmingham New Street – one train per hour.

No trains are due to run on any other WMR route, including via Birmingham Snow Hill, the Camp Hill line, services between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa, and services from Birmingham New Street to Hereford and Shrewsbury.

London Northwestern Railway services will also be disrupted.

This includes one train an hour on Birmingham-Liverpool services and Birmingham-Northampton-Milton Keynes-London Euston services.

No trains will run on any other LNR route, including those via The Potteries (Stafford - Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent).

London Northwestern Railway services are also disrupted.

Rail replacement is in operation between:

• Longbridge and Bromsgrove/Redditch
• Lichfield City and Sutton Coldfield
• Rugeley Trent Valley and Walsall

The union is calling for the same deal as other unions had secured relating to rest day working on a Saturday.

The Department for Transport (DfT) had "repeatedly failed" to fulfil their assurances that an improved agreement would be secured, it said.

A DfT spokesperson said: "We know how frustrating disruption can be for passengers which is why WM Trains are putting them first and looking to engage further with the TSSA union to find a way forward.

"We strongly encourage both sides to continue to engage to reach a solution and avoid any further impacts on services and passengers."

Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: "We are working hard to reach a resolution to this dispute and urge TSSA to continue talks."

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