Review: Midlands' minor inconveniences all add up

In RAIL’s latest undercover assessment of how the railway treats its passengers, our Mystery Shopper travels around popular Midlands destinations with five different train operators. Does the railway deliver?

In this article:

• Station and train facilities vary, with some providing modern amenities and others plagued by dirt, delays, and overcrowding.
• Popular tourist destinations like Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon highlight both the potential and shortcomings of regional rail connectivity.
• Ticket checks are rare, catering is dwindling, and excessive announcements distract from an otherwise scenic and accessible network.

For this mystery shopper, RAIL examines the network in the heart of England, with a plan to visit some popular destinations: Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon Avon, Hereford and Shrewsbury.

All have plenty of attractions for the leisure traveller or tourist. But how well does the railway deliver passengers to these destinations?

A West Midlands Day Ranger covers these towns, plus a host of others. Priced at £34.00, it covers a wide area - use it enough, and it’s good value. However, references on the National Rail website suggested it would cost £31.70 - so that’s not a great start!

This Rover ticket can take you as far north as Crewe (via the Trent Valley as well as directly from Wolverhampton and over the Cannock Chase line), and south to Northampton. Its other extremities are Gobowen and Redditch, and it covers Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales, Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.

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