Addleshaw Goddard's Rail team has advised the Department for Transport on the completion of the West Midlands franchise Direct Award to London Midland.

The franchise will be funded with a subsidy of £130m over the duration of the Direct Award which commences in April 2016 and will run until 2017.

£13m of improvements will also be invested to make journey's better for the 64 million passengers that use the services every year. The improvements will include around 6,600 extra seats, free Wi-Fi on long distance journeys and better ticketing facilities – all adding to the customer experience.

The AG team was led by Paul Hirst and Andy Sykes with support from Lauren Payne, Sara Gilmore, Robin Warburton, Chris Reardon and Emma Baird.

AG will now continue to advise the DfT on the fully competed West Midlands franchise.