West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin held talks with the new managing director of West Midlands Trains to hear his plans for improving the franchise.

The MP met with Julian Edwards who took over the role last month, to discuss the recent poor performance of commuter line services between Hereford and Birmingham, stopping at Great Malvern and Malvern Link.

Harriett also raised her concerns about vandalism at Malvern Link station and asked for updates on when the promised new rolling stock will be in service on local commuter routes.

Harriett said: “I am grateful for Julian to take the time to brief me on his plan. He accepts that the service was poor for the second half of last year but that latest reliability statistics show some hints of improvement.

“Service cancellations are down by 80 per cent, which is good news, but I know every commuter wants to see fast and meaningful improvement in service capacity and reliability.

“I continue to be concerned about the speed delivering the new trains which were originally promised before the summer. I hope that Julian and his team will lead the way delivering the improved service which we expect from him to keep hold of the franchise.”