Posted 9th December 2013 | 6 Comments
Some regions have 'weak' rail services -- report
The report says the north east 'has only a sparse rail network, making services inaccessible to many people'
NEW weekday timetables apply from today, and some of the improvements include 125mph running on the Midland Main Line for the first time.
East Midlands Trains is taking advantage of the faster sections to reduce journey times.
But a report commissioned by the Campaign for Better Transport claims that passengers in parts of Britain are being offered inferior train services compared with other, better regions.
The report, 'Benchmarking rail services across Great Britain', was prepared for the CBT by consultants Credo, and it recommends that England, Scotland and Wales should each develop their own rail plans.
It discovered that the rail networks serving London, the south east, north west, west Midlands and Scotland are the best performers, although some suffer from overcrowding, but others do less well, with the north east and east performing 'weakly'.
East Anglia is said to be held back by 'low investment and weak passenger satisfaction', while the north east 'has only a sparse rail network, making services inaccessible to many people'.
CBT chief executive Stephen Joseph commented: "The research exposes the huge disparities in the quality of train services across the country. Importantly, it suggests the answer is to give local administrations more control over their rail networks. By devolving more decision making we can make full use of local knowledge and target investment where it will bring the biggest benefits."
Director of franchising at the Department for Transport Peter Wilkinson said: "Credo's study raises important issues about the relative performance of the rail industry. There are challenges for all regions in improving the performance of our railways. We, the industry and local government must consider how we best work together to tackle the issues this report raises."
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Lucas kelly, Bourne, Lincolnshire
There are many large and growing market towns in Lincolnshire with No direct access to the railway network at all, conurbations of 15,000 - 20,000 people and continually growing, are with no hope in sight of railway connection. What railway that does exist is in Lincolnshire is sparse and very slow. The current railway infastructure connects communities poorly with many crucial connecting rail links between important towns and cities removed with no plan to reinstate services. Rarely is there ever a viable rail alternative to the car.
James Palma, London
And this report is surprising, how?
It must be common knowledge that some areas have better rail services than others.
To improve use of trains, TOCs should run their services at treasonable intervals instead of one every hour and a half or more (whitby branch for example) and that way people realise that the train is a better service than taking the car.
Bob Grundy, Lancing
Tyne & Wear for example has both an Integrated Transport Authority and a Passenger Transport Executive. If the region's railways are sub-standard, either those agencies are not doing their jobs, or the DfT isn't listening to them. Perhaps this is a case of too many government bodies, overlapping responsibilities, things falling through the cracks between them.
Dave Koring, Placerville, CA.
It's no good expecting local government to fund rail services except in large conurbations, where services are generally good anyway. Elsewhere, where the services are poor, LA's simply do not have either the funds or the expertise to implement rail service improvements. In addition, for example, Shropshire's rail service is provided by Wales - and English residents have no power to vote on Wales's policies . . .
Lutz, London
Governments for England, Scotland and Wales already have rail plans. I addition, what is being called for is not new and has bee difficult to implement in cases where it already exists.
Glynne Gianelli, COLWYN BAY
Weak? Non existent I'd say in some areas, especially after the Beeching cuts. In Wales the Aberystwyth to Camarthen line should be restored as a priority. The roads in that area are abysmal and people without cars are effectively cut off from a decent right to travel anywhere else in Wales in any form of reliability and comfort.