PRESS STATEMENT from TravelWatch SouthWest CIC
In response to the news that Network Rail will not complete the Great Western Electrification Project as planned, TravelWatch SouthWest demands the urgent purchase of new trains:
TravelWatch SouthWest, the region's passenger watchdog, is demanding that the Government takes special measures to acquire additional carriages for GWR's hard-pressed rail passengers. The call comes following the revelation by ITV today that Network Rail won't be completing the Great Westernelectrificationproject as planned.
The cost of completing modernisation of the Great Westernmain line from Paddington through Reading to Bristol, South Wales, and thebranchesto Basingstoke, Oxford and Newburyis now expected to be around three times the original budget andhas slipped years behind schedule. Network Rail’s recovery plan for the project means that work on the lines to Oxford, Newbury and Basingstoke will be stopped while effort is concentrated on completing the main line.
This will have a big impact on passengers throughout the region. Great Western Railway, which operates passenger services throughout the south west, had planned to cascade the diesel trains released by electrification to enhance services, adding more seats in the rapidly growing Bristol and Exeter travel-to-work areas and on the busy routes between South Wales and the south coast. The faster trains from those areas were then to be released to improve regional services using the main line to Cornwall.
Vinita Nawathe, chair of TravelWatch SouthWest said:
"Network Rail's shambolic management of this vital Government initiative is a serious setback for communities throughout the South West. It means thatpassengerswill have to put up with clapped-out, over-crowded trains for even longer, just when the region is looking forward to growth. FirstGroup reports that its subsidiary GWR is growing at 7%, year-on-year. That means that we'll need an extra carriage for every two carriages today just to ensure that every passenger gets a seat by the time of the next election. That's now not going to happen unless the Government comes up with a way of providing additional rolling stock to fill the gap left by the electrification shambles."
Bryony Chetwode – Company Secretary
TravelWatch SouthWest CIC
You can contact Bryony Chetwode to arrange interviews on 07730357377 or the via the office email at:
TravelWatch SouthWest CIC is a company limited by guarantee.Registration Number: 5542697
Registered Office: The Old Carriage Works, Moresk Road, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1DG
Administrative Office: South Watch Harcombe, Lyme Regis DT7 3RN