UPDATE: Nuneaton MP Bill Olner has held a debate in Westminster Hall telling the Transport Minister what a disaster the cut in services would be to Nuneaton - a decision which was made by the Transport Ministry. From December 2008, Nuneaton\'s strategic transport links to London and other major cities are to be decimated according to the Department of Transport and Virgin Trains. Nuneaton Rail Users Group are writing to all Nuneaton and Bedworth borough and county councillors to warn them that off peak fast services to London, Stafford, Crewe and Liverpool including fast connections to Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and Glasgow are to be withdrawn. What will this mean to the people of Nuneaton and Bedworth 1.It will take 40% longer to get to London, off peak, using inferior, slower trains. Approx 1hr 45mins opposed to 1hr 5mins 2.It will no longer be possible to get to Liverpool direct, adding approximately 1 hour to the existing journey time 3.Because of slower trains, overall journey times to all major destinations such as Manchester, Crewe, Glasgow, Preston, Milton Keynes and Watford will increase dramatically 4.The tax payers of Nuneaton, who have helped pay for the West Coast upgrade and have had to bear the problems associated with it, will receive the worst ever service to and from London, slower than 40 years ago! 5.Only the well off or company expensed will be able to afford a decent service as they are the only ones who will be able to afford the few remaining fast trains, disadvantaging the very people who cannot afford cars or want a greener transport solution 6.Off peak, it will probably be quicker for people from Nuneaton to go to Coventry or Leicester, what sense is there in that 7.Peak time only trains to/from Nuneaton, but no-one has defined exactly how many trains that means. 2, 3 Maybe 4 trains if we\'re lucky Why are they doing it To shave a few minutes of the journey time for people in Manchester and Liverpool, forget Nuneaton, we\'re not important! They are adding one train an hour to Liverpool and Manchester plus another to Chester. Why cannot they stop one of them at Nuneaton each hour We should be lobbying for MORE fast services not LESS! You cannot allow this to happen. A frequent, fast rail service to London and major cities is vital for the continued success of the borough. How can we compete for jobs with other local cities and towns with such a poor rail service The jobs and prosperity of the people of Nuneaton and Bedworth is at risk! Rugby will still have at least an hourly fast service to London, why not Nuneaton and Bedworth The reason is that the local Rail Users Group and politicians have fought the cuts in Rugby. Coventry will get a fast service every 20 minutes to and from London. Our local MP - Bill Olner has known about this for months but has done absolutely nothing to campaign for the retention of off peak services. In fact, he has said that \'No one uses the off peak services\'. He clearly has never travelled off peak as this is clearly not the case, hundreds of passengers use the off peak services. Our members are witness to it. No traffic figures have ever been reported, so how would they know

Sponsor

Links