West Midlands Trains Limited (WMT) was a British train operating company. It operated passenger trains on the West Midlands network and between London and Liverpool, under two trading names: as West Midlands Railway (WMR) within the West Midlands region and as London Northwestern Railway (LNR) outside the region.

West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co, which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. JR East sold its 15% interest to Abellio in September 2021. In 2023 Abellio sold its stake to Transport UK Group.

In addition to the DfT, it was also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland.

Passenger services were transferred to state ownership under control of the DfT Operator as West Midlands Trains on 1 February 2026, when the franchise contract ended.

History

In April 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the shortlist of bidders for the West Midlands franchise, comprising the incumbent operator Govia, MTR Corporation, and West Midlands Trains: a consortium of Abellio (70%), JR East (15%) and Mitsui & Co (15%). During July 2016, MTR Corporation abruptly opted to withdraw itself from the bidding process.

In August 2016, a formal invitation to tender for the franchise was issued to the two remaining bidders. During August 2017, the West Midlands Trains consortium was awarded the franchise; it took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland, on 10 December 2017. The contract was scheduled to run until March 2026.

Unlike the previous London Midland franchise, which was solely accountable to the DfT, for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region, West Midlands Trains is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive, a group of 16 local authorities. However, until the franchise is re-let, the DfT must still approve any changes that the West Midlands Rail Executive may wish to make.

By mid-2020, West Midlands Trains had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including West Midlands Trains services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and anyone failing to do so were liable to be refused travel or fined.

In May 2021, the company was criticised after it sent an email to 2,500 employees apparently thanking them for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and offering a financial bonus; however, employees who clicked on the link within the email were informed that there was, in fact, no bonus and that the email had been a "phishing simulation test”.

In September 2021, following emergency measures to deal with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DfT awarded WMT a direct contract until 20 September 2026, replacing its existing franchise agreement.

West Midlands Trains is one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, which are the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who are participating in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. West Midlands Trains was only capable of operating a very minimal timetable on any of the planned dates for the strikes due to the number of staff involved.

Abellio's stake in West Midlands Trains was included in the sale of its United Kingdom business to Transport UK Group in February 2023.

Penalty fares , West Midlands Trains operated a penalty fare policy requiring passengers to purchase a ticket before boarding. In the event that this is not possible, passengers must make themselves known to the conductor immediately on boarding.

Transfer to state ownership In July 2025, as part of the Starmer government's programme of passenger rail services renationalisation it was announced that all passenger services will revert to state ownership under the similarly named, but DfT Operator-owned company, West Midlands Trains, on 1 February 2026.

Branding

WMT services are split into two businesses which operate under two distinct sub-brands. Train services running on the West Coast Main Line, including those running to/from London Euston, and , operate under the London Northwestern Railway brand. This name was chosen in tribute to the former London & North Western Railway (LNWR), the company that operated services on the route between 1846 and 1922. Branding of trains and associated publicity use a green colour scheme with a logo composed of the letters L, N and W.

Services running in Birmingham and the West Midlands region – previously operated by London Midland under the London Midland City brand – are operated by WMT under the West Midlands Railway brand. WMT have chosen to operate these services as a distinct business unit in order to facilitate a possible future devolution of these services from the national DfT to the West Midlands Combined Authority. These services bear an orange and purple colour scheme and are branded with a hexagonal "WM" monogram adopted as part of a shared branding initiative under Transport for West Midlands, in which several transport modes in the West Midlands County use similar branding to emphasise integrated transport. Each mode bears a variant of the "WM" logo: West Midlands Buses use a red logo, West Midlands Metro trams use a blue logo, cycling initiatives are branded with a green logo, West Midlands Railway bears an orange logo, and the West Midlands Rail Executive uses a turquoise logo.

London Northwestern Railway services WMT's services along the West Coast Main Line rail corridor are operated under the London Northwestern Railway brand. These services include:

services out of ; branch line services off the south of the West Coast main line.

As of December 2025, the typical off-peak Monday - Saturday London Northwestern Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:

West Coast Main Line Route Calling at　 2 London Euston 2 London Euston 2 London Euston 1 Stafford Crewe 1 Birmingham New Street 1 1 Abbey Line Route tph Calling at Watford Junction 1 Marston Vale Line Route tph Calling at Bletchley 1

West Midlands Railway services

In the West Midlands region, WMT's train services are operated under the West Midlands Railway brand. These services include:

services through Birmingham; the Coventry to Leamington and Coventry to Nuneaton branch lines.

Services on the short Stourbridge Town branch line are run by the open access operator Pre Metro Operations, who operate services on behalf of WMT under the West Midlands Railway brand name.

, the typical off-peak Monday–Saturday West Midlands Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:

Birmingham Shrewsbury Route Calling at　 1 1 Malvern Line Route Calling at　 Birmingham New Street 1 Cross-City Line Route Calling at　 Bromsgrove 2 Four Oaks 2 Chase Line Route Calling at Wolverhampton 2 2 Snow Hill lines Route Calling at via 1 Stratford-upon-Avon Kidderminster via 1 Whitlocks End Kidderminster 1 Dorridge Worcester Foregate Street 1 Branch lines Route Calling at Stourbridge Junction 6 Shuttle service 1

Sunday services are generally hourly on most routes however:

On the Malvern Line, services between and are reduced to a two-hourly service. Two trains per hour run on the Cross-City line between and with both trains calling at . An hourly service operates between and . Services at local stations between and are provided by additional calls on London Northwestern Railway services between and /. On the Snow Hill lines, services operate hourly from to via and do not call at , , , , or but calls at in both directions. An hourly service also operates between and in the daytime which picks up the calls at , and and runs non-stop between and . Services between and are reduced to 4 trains per hour.

Planned changes

Planned changes include: Reopening of 3 stations on the Camp Hill line and reintroduction of a service (2 tph) from Kings Norton to Birmingham New Street. Platform allocation will be taken from the Cross-City Line. Originally intended to open in 2023, all three stations opened in April 2026.

Rolling stock WMT inherited a fleet of , , , , , , and units from London Midland, but as the newer units entered service, some were returned to the leasing companies that own them.

Fleet details

Class 139 Parry People Movers The concept of using the lightweight railcar dates from 2006 when a year-long pilot scheme began on the Stourbridge Town branch line on Sundays, using a Parry People Movers PPM50 unit constructed in 2002 and numbered as 999900 under TOPS. The success of this trial led to the provision of regular services using the technology in the franchise plans for the new West Midlands Franchise. Following the award of the franchise to London Midland, it placed an order for two PPM60 units with Parry People Movers, through Porterbrook. The service itself was operated for London Midland by Pre Metro Operations.

These two units are 139 001 and 139 002, composed of vehicle numbers 39001 and 39002 in the British carriage and wagon numbering and classification system. The vehicles are mechanically similar to 999 900, but are approximately one metre longer. They were intended to start operating on the Stourbridge Town branch in 2008. In January 2009 it was confirmed that 139001 was still undergoing testing at Chasewater Railway and 139002 was still not completed.

Despite the difficulties in the commissioning of the two Class 139 units, London Midland consistently outlined its faith that they would be ready to enter service. In March 2009, it was announced that the first unit had received its passenger certification from Network Rail, allowing it to carry passengers. London Midland stated that they would begin a phased entry into service, starting with weekend operation in April, leading up to a full service by the timetable change in May 2009. Until then, London Midland temporarily returned a Class 153 to operating the branch service. 139 002 officially entered service on 29 March 2009 as part of the type's phased entry. This unit had previously worked in full service, including all-day on Monday 11 May 2009 and previously had worked all morning services during February and March 2009. In May 2009, the first unit, 139 001 was finally delivered to Stourbridge, with 999 900 removed at the same time. Test unit 999 900 had been on the branch line between 2005 and 2009. At the point of introduction, they displaced a single Class 153 DMU that was previously allocated to the branch line. By December 2009, the 200,000th passenger had been carried by the railcars.

Class 150 Sprinter In July 2023, three Class 150/1s, 150137, 150139 and 150141, were transferred from Northern Trains to London Northwestern Railway for use on the Marston Vale line, after the in use on the line were withdrawn from use in December 2022 due to maintenance concerns after the company who maintained the units, Vivarail, went into administration. The Class 150s entered service with LNR on 20 November 2023.

Class 172 Turbostar West Midlands Trains operate a total of 39 two-car and three-car Class 172 units, 27 of which had been ordered by predecessor London Midland, who originally planned for them to enter service by the end of 2010 on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill, replacing Class 150s. The original 27 sets have revised front ends with end gangways which make the trains look like the Electrostar family of units.