03.06.16
Cutting inter-city WCML services to make commuting ‘almost impossible’
Restricting the amount of inter-city trains at key stations on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) would make it “almost impossible” to commute between major cities and would be “wholly unworkable” practically and economically, transport chiefs have said.
In its response to the government’s InterCity West Coast Rail Franchise consultation, which opened on 10 May, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) said proposals such as cutting the number of trains at stations like Wolverhampton and Coventry would make matters worse rather than open up capacity.
Reducing services at these two key stations was one of the proposals put forward in the consultation, which seeks views on the currently Virgin-operated franchise set to expire in 2018.
Other ideas included an option to limit the use of inter-city services in the region to strictly long distance passengers rather than prioritising short distance operators. But ITA argued that Virgin currently runs more than 40% of train services on the Birmingham to Coventry line, as well as provides over half the peak-time commuter capacity.
Yet the government’s consultation argued that there are often alternative services for short-distance journeys with competing TOCs – such as with the West Midlands franchise, due to expire in 2017 – whereas the WCML operator is the only one providing long-distance trips.
ITA, however, expressed concern that reductions and restrictions would hit both long-distance passengers wanting to start journeys from stations such as Wolverhampton and Coventry and local commuters travelling within the region.
Its chair, Cllr Roger Lawrence, said: “It is wholly unacceptable that non-Birmingham passengers could lose their direct services to London, Glasgow and Edinburgh, purely to save a few minutes on journey times.
“The inter-city West Coast services play a crucial role in supporting our regional economy so any move to restrict their use to purely long distance passengers would make it almost impossible to commute between Birmingham and Coventry and be wholly unworkable from both a practical and economic point of view.”
And while the authority recognised the challenge to meet growing demand until extra capacity is released when the first phase of HS2 opens, it argued the focus must be on replacing services currently running five to nine carriages with 11 or 12-car trains, rather than scaling back services at intermediate stations.
“If anything, the DfT needs to be looking at ways to improve services at key interchanges such as Wolverhampton and Birmingham International rather than seeking to reduce access to inter-city rail services,” Cllr Lawrence added.
“We will be writing to the government expressing our concerns but will also put forward our own suggestions on how best to provide the extra capacity needed before HS2 opens.”
Despite the need for more carriages, the DfT’s consultation had already warned that options for rolling out longer trains before HS2 is built “may be limited”.
“They also may not be affordable or operationally deliverable in all areas of crowding due to constraints such as platform lengths and space within timetables and at stations to fit extra trains in,” the department added.
(Top image c. mattbuck)
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