TRAIN bosses have revealed its plan to protect the previously cancelled services that have left college students stranded.

But West Midlands Trains has admitted there is 'no quick fix' to the issue, which has seen around 150 Hereford Sixth Form College students from Worcester, Malvern and Ledbury struggling to get to classes.

Hereford Sixth Form College deputy principal Phil Tranter claimed some students were stuck trying to get home from Hereford Station until 10pm.

North Herefordshire MP Ellie Chowns has now requested a meeting with the CEO of West Midlands Railway to help improve the 'unacceptably poor' service. 

West Midlands Trains apologised for the disruption and blamed it on train crew shortages and a recurring signalling fault between Hereford and Ledbury.

Following a meeting with the college, the firm identified several services that should be protected from cancellation as the highest priority.

The first train leaves Worcester Foregate Street at 7.42am while the second begins the journey back from Hereford at 4.40pm- allowing students to get to and from college.

Allison Maxwell, from Malvern, set up a WhatsApp group to organise a 'rescue mission' for her daughter and other youngsters stranded by the train cancellations.

She said the disruption was causing havoc to children's education, and added while the trains have been better recently, it was still like a lottery as to whether or not many of them are cancelled.

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An email sent by West Midlands Trains to the college, seen by the Worcester News, said:  "While this prioritisation cannot guarantee these services will never be cancelled in future, it means our resources are squarely targeted at the trains used by the majority of students.

"You may have noticed the reliability of the service has improved with no cancellations impacting these trains.

"This is not a problem with a ‘quick fix’ but we are committed to running the best possible service and engaging with our customers while we continue working through this challenge."

Following the meeting, Mr Tranter said: "The meeting was very constructive, they couldn't guarantee that future trains wouldn't be cancelled or impacted due to shortage of train crews so we agreed they could prioritise the two main services.

"We sent out an email to staff saying that those two services would be ringfenced and that afternoon the 4.40pm train was cancelled- it was like comedic timing you couldn't make it up.

"In general trains have been better and at least we have more clarity but I am not totally happy."

We contacted West Midlands Railway for further comment but they were unavailable by the time we went to press.