West Midlands Railway Reviews 

I am extremely disappointed with how my case was handled following an incident at Birmingham station.

I had purchased a different train ticket, and when I was approached by a revenue officer, I fully cooperated and explained everything clearly. The officer told me that I would receive a letter and would only need to pay the correct fare amount. At no point was I informed about the option to pay a penalty fare (£100, or £50 if paid on the day), nor was I given the opportunity to resolve the matter immediately.

Based on this, I trusted the information given to me.

However, I later received a prosecution penalty, as if I had failed to cooperate, which is completely inaccurate and unfair.

I submitted a formal appeal explaining the situation in detail, including that the officer’s body camera footage would clearly show the conversation and the incorrect information I was given. Despite this, my appeal was rejected without properly addressing these points.

I chose not to escalate further through legal action due to the cost and complexity, but the entire experience reflects very poor handling and a lack of accountability.

I always pay for my travel and would have paid the correct fare or penalty immediately if I had been properly informed. Instead, I feel I was misled, then penalised, and finally ignored when trying to resolve the issue fairly.

This process needs serious improvement. Passengers deserve clear information, fair treatment, and proper consideration when raising legitimate concerns.

Very poor rude, staff unreliable, overpriced! How does every other European country provide a better cheaper service!

Im not sure why West Midlands Rail think its acceptable to put two or three carriages on at peak times in the mornings. The train at 8am at Rowley Regis is so packed you cant get on it. No surprise when only 3 carriages on Wednesday and 2 on Thursday. Its so frustrating. I wonder if we were paid a refund for each train that arrived short on carriages then WMR would do something about it. Obviously not bothered about people travelling into work!

This is the second time I have travelled West Midlands to London Euston . It is a 2 hour 15 minute journey with not a single toilet on board working. Absolutely disgusting. I normally travel on Avanti and will not be using London West Midlands again until they get something so basic right. An uncomfortable journey for all needing the toilet. Especially if you have medical issues, are pregnant and someone travelling with children! The train should not be operational or get it fixed!!! Not the first time!!!!

West Midlands Railway have introduced parking charges introduced where parking had been free for over a century at Shenstone station. (Arguably appropriated common land) Of course people used to using the car park were caught out like sitting ducks. £60. The car park contractors are amongst the sneakiest and most disreputable on earth . See the trust pilot score for Saba Park Solutions 1.3!
No point in appealing because Saba are in contract the appeals body (not independent as proposed law would have it). Popla masquerade as offering a legal service but employ barely illiterate arbiters. Just a scam all the way.

Right so, the guys who sold me the ticket VERY offended me!!!! He said I was 17. When I am actually 15, and wanting to purchase a child ticket. I only had 2.70 and the adult ticket was 5 pounds, I made it clear I was running to somewhere!!!! He said he doesn't believe me!!! I showed him my school account and still didn't let me buy and go though!!! I feel very offended!!!! I had to call my mum to come pick me up and give me some extra money for the train and she had to come and pick me up. I'm very disappointed, this has never happened!!!! I was very late to my event which cost me alot of money!!!!

Absolute embarrassment of a company. Costs me £22 a day and the trains are always late.

They call cancel regularly with no notice and just leave clients guessing.

Farcical and should be shut down, disgraceful service.

It's hard to believe how difficult train travel is these days. The train to Lemington Spa was stopped just outside the station and held up long enough to miss our train to London by exactly one minute. The next connection took 30 minutes. Considering it was only a minute and I've used this connection many times before, I find it hard to believe this was a coincidence and not simply the negligence of the station manager.

This company will make you pay for their bad service. All trains from Birmingham to London were canceled all night. After hours waiting, we had to take an Uber, hence paying be double just to get to London.

The company refuses to refund regardless of all evidence given that we did not use the tickets.

Highly incompetent and alarming how they treat their customers, among others international travelers with no knowledge about their policies.

WMR appear to have stopped any attempt at providing a decent service. It’s still the same as it has been for many many years. My first train this morning was cancelled. The next was half its usual length and so was rammed full, like a sheep lorry on its way to an abattoir. This happened exactly the same on my journeys last week. I never know whether a train will be on time or cancelled or whether it will be too full to board. Still have to pay full price, though. I don’t know where the money goes, it certainly isn’t towards providing a decent service

On a day when it was -1 outside when leaving Crewe for London, the air-conditioning was on all the way to London. Ridiculously cold. Where is the customer care there??

The process for claiming even modest refunds appears deliberately designed to be unnecessarily difficult and exhausting.

After following the correct procedure at the station — returning in person, explaining the issue, waiting while staff completed and processed the form, and being issued with an official stamped receipt — I was later asked not only to supply the reference number on that receipt, but also to provide a photograph of the very document the company itself had issued.

This is administratively illogical and places the burden entirely on the customer for failures that occur within West Midlands Railway’s own internal processes. Customers are repeatedly challenged to produce additional materials, revisit stations, or use scanners, printers and other equipment that many people simply do not have access to. In my case, complying would have required making an additional return journey to the station purely to compensate for an internal breakdown beyond my control.

The time involved is long, the correspondence repetitive, and the cumulative effect strongly suggests a strategy of attrition: frustrate the customer sufficiently and many will simply give up. My suspicion is that a large majority of justified refund claims are abandoned part-way through the process for exactly this reason.

Making a legitimate claim should not implicate the customer in a drawn-out, frustrating ordeal. If the organisation is confident in its procedures, it might consider publishing data on how many refund claims are started versus how many are successfully completed, so customers can better understand what they are taking on.

A poor train company

Having stood for almost forty minutes in 0deg/ swirling snow on Crewe station, waiting for a delayed train, it was reassuring to receive an invitation from Trainpal to claim compensation. All helpful so far.
BUT, my journey did not start from Crewe , and the ticket shows Chester-Lichfield and Lichfield-Euston. So the system says NO....I now await contact from their online 'help' to advise what I should do.
No idea what the problem was on the 4th, but another train was brought in to take us the Northampton . Sadly this was awaiting cleaning, so the toilets were full of....etc....But at least the heating worked.
The staff at Crewe did their best, but it seems to be the on line compensation systems that's badly set up , or more likely, designed to ensure upset customers give up and go away.
Hurry up Nationalisation...and to think the French etc. want to privatise......

no communication no adequate service just horrible

Watford to Birmingham New Street, delayed (fair enough), then tactically cancelled at Birmingham International so it could head south and catch up, leaving us all to make our own way to New Street. Herded onto a slow service that eventually delivered us 1h4m late to New Street. Applied for refund and they only agreed to pay 50% rather than the 100% specified in their service level. Appeal attempted, overruled. What's really sad about the whole event is that we're not at all surprised. Companies shouldn't be permitted to operate in this manner. Never thought I'd say this, but maybe nationalisation is the way to go.

delay repay website not working . i filled it in correctly but still not allowing me to submit.

Evvverrry time I get in the train. Toilets r never in use. And if they are in use on a odd occasion the are riflfling with urine on the ground , also if ur a cleanse person like myself wen u was ur hands the way the the sinks are built the water goes all over the fooors and on ur clothes !!

Honestly. Trains are always late but they b wanting u to still pay full price a ticket. And if u havnt brought a ticket becus ur train was either cancelled or delayed inspectors will want to give u a 100+ fare fine/ baring in mind tickets no more the 5£ were I get on Kmt

Travel to London on West Midlands Railway.. The train though not new, but was clean and tidy.. it was not overcrowded. The perfect journey.
It wasn't late it wasn't early it was just on time.

The return journey was also pleasant clean and tidy.. top marks to the cleaning crew...

I love the look and space in the new trains. Even on busy days there's always somewhere to sit or stand comfortably without it feeling too crowded. I frequently use the Cross City Line, mainly in the Lichfield area and I find they're mostly on time. I have had the odd cancellation and delay here and there. There can be some issues on this line on occasion. But overall they tend to be quite good. Ticket prices are decent too. With my Railcard I can get into Birmingham city centre for about £5 return which is a bargain. I am yet to find a significant issue for this company. But at the moment my experiences have been comfortable and pretty good.