West Midlands Railway passengers are being urged to ‘travel prepared’ and bring a face covering with them when their use becomes mandatory from Monday (June 15).

Following a change in coronavirus health advice, passengers who do not wear a face covering on board a train risk being refused travel or issued with a penalty fine.

In order to help passengers comply with social distancing, West Midlands Railway is still asking customers to avoid the train unless their journey is necessary and they have no other way to travel.

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway, said:

“Covering your face while on board is now as much a part of travelling by train as buying a ticket. Wearing a face covering helps prevent the spread of coronavirus and reduces the risk for everybody.

“We know the idea of wearing a face covering will be new to many of our passengers but we are sure that after the first few journeys it will start to become second nature.

“We are appealing to our customers to avoid the train if they can and – if they do travel – to follow the rules by covering their mouth and nose.”

Advice on how to make a face covering and instructions for using one are available on the government website here.

As well as wearing a face covering, West Midlands Railway is urging passengers to buy their tickets online, wash their hands before and after travelling and to respect social distancing whenever possible.

For the latest travel advice, visit www.wmr.uk/coronavirus or follow @WestMidRailway on Twitter.