West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has heard that the huge pay rise awarded to train drivers risks making the rail service even worse.

And the MP has written to the Transport Secretary to share her concerns that fewer drivers are offering overtime cover after they receive their back-dated pay rises.

The Government approved pay rises for train drivers that will see huge lump sum payments put into their bank accounts, but it has so far led to more service cancellations as train companies struggle to find available drivers to cover shifts.

The industry relies on overtime to cover services throughout the week and on Sundays and Dame Harriett shared industry concerns that it will be much harder to offer a consistent rail service.

Dame Harriett said:

“Rail companies have told me about some of the challenges they have staffing shifts, especially at weekends.

“With large lump sums hitting bank accounts shortly, train operators are worried that it will be even harder to find drivers who want to work overtime shifts and I have passed this concern on to the Transport Secretary.

“She has increased driver pay and is taking train companies back into public ownership.  She has all the levers to ensure there is a better train service for my constituents.

“It’s now down to the Government to show they can make things better as so far they just seem to have made things worse for passengers.”