news story

9th January 2007

Local MP Meets First Great Western Over Local Rail "Chaos"

Northavon MP Steve Webb has held a meeting at his Yate office with the regional manager of First Great Western to register his concerns at the poor quality of local rail services. The Lib Dem MP took action after hearing from large numbers of local residents who had had bad experiences on local rail routes, particularly from Yate into Bristol.

Residents complained of trains being cancelled or late, or of trains turning up without enough carriages and of standing squashed on the train - even in some cases having to stand in the toilets. On Friday (5th January) the MP had a meeting with First Great Western's regional manager for 'Severn and Solent', Andrew Griffiths, to demand explanations and urgent action to rectify these problems.

The MP was told that the particular problems being experienced by Yate commuters were because of maintenance problems with the train fleet taken over from Wessex trains last month. First said that their new maintenance depot at Bristol Temple Meads was still not fully up and running, which was slowing down maintenance work. They also said that the condition of the rolling stock had been worse than they had expected. Although neither of these problems could be solved over night, the company said that they expected the service to improve significantly in about a week's time.

Even with fully functioning trains, the MP was told that there was very little spare capacity on the cross Bristol routes because of the specification drawn up by the Department of Transport, which allowed little or no scope for growth in passenger numbers.

Commenting on the local situation, Steve Webb said:

"The first few weeks of the new franchise have seen shockingly poor levels of service. At a time when people are being encouraged to use public transport more, it is totally unacceptable for trains to be cancelled without notice or to turn up with insufficient carriages. First Great Western clearly did not prepare adequately for their new responsibilities. I am also concerned that the Department of Transport has commissioned only a very basic cross-Bristol service which will soon reach capacity. If people are to have an alternative to driving into Bristol then this capacity needs to be expanded as a matter of urgency".

The MP asked about longer-term improvements for rail passengers in the Bristol area and was told that in addition to the new Platform 3 at Bristol Parkway, due to open in May 2007, there are also plans for a fourth platform. This new capacity should help to reduce delays with trains waiting for a free platform at the station. The MP heard that First's inter-city trains are all being refurbished with improvements such as new quieter and more fuel-efficient engines and refurbished interiors including power sockets in all carriages.

In the much longer term, Network Rail has indicated an interest in making alterations at Yate station to allow trains to turn back at Yate, thereby allowing a much more frequent service to and from the station. But such plans are at a very early stage.