'Super express' trains for everyone - but us
A NEW fleet of "super express" trains is unlikely to be seen on the Westcountry's railways, the Government admitted last night in a snub dubbed a "potential disaster" by the region's MPs.
Transport secretary Geoff Hoon said passengers on some of the country's busiest rail routes would benefit from the single biggest investment in inter-city trains for a generation.
With much fanfare it was announced the £7.5 billion contract would replace 30-year-old high-speed trains on the Great Western main line by 2015.
Click here to read Matt Chorley's latest blog
But buried in the small print of the announcement was confirmation that only routes between London and Bristol will definitely see the new trains – with a spokesman for the Department for Transport insisting the rest of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall was not part of the main line.
Last night Westcountry MPs claimed the region's railways have been "redesignated as a branch line" and vowed to challenge the decision.
They warned the consequences for region's businesses and tourism could be "calamitous".
The announcement follows fears, reported by the WMN last month, that the region would miss out on the next generation of faster, more reliable trains. Mr Hoon insisted the announcement was "good news for passengers". However, it remains unclear if any passengers travelling to Devon, Cornwall or Somerset will see any benefits.
A press notice said the new 125-mph trains will operate on the East Coast and Great Western main lines, "with options for deployment… on services between London and the West of England (Penzance and Exeter)".
However no-one at the Department for Transport or First Group, which currently runs the Great Western franchise, could shed any light on why the Westcountry had been snubbed. TravelWatch SouthWest said it would campaign for the replacement of the ageing rolling stock on "key corridors in the South West, particularly those routes serving Cheltenham Spa, Exeter, Gloucester, Penzance, Plymouth and Taunton".
Matthew Taylor, Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell, told the WMN: "It looks like a potential disaster for Cornwall and Devon. The implication is that we may no longer have full express services to Penzance or even Plymouth.
"At best it suggests they may be thinking of cutting trains down to smaller units, at worst that we would be getting no new trains at all.
"It appears that the Government has arbitrarily re-designated lines west of Bristol as no longer part of the main line. The whole of the South West appears to be relegated to a branch line and there is no certainty that our present high-speed inter-city train will ever be replaced."
Mr Taylor, along with a number of other disgruntled Westcountry MPs, has now written to ministers demanding an urgent explanation.
Tory MP for South West Devon Gary Streeter added: "The further you are away from the centre the more you need high speed. An 'option' isn't really good enough. I will be seeking guarantees from ministers to turn it into a reality."
However, Ben Bradshaw, Labour's regional minister for the South West, said: "It will improve the services between London and the South West. This is the biggest investment for a generation and I am pleased that people in our region will benefit."
2 Comments
by Tom West, UK
Thursday, February 26 2009, 8:24PM
“When are those 1300 extra carriages that were promised two years ago get ordered?”
by George, Lipson, Plymouth
Tuesday, February 17 2009, 5:39PM
“Supprise supprise! need i say anything more. i do hope the conservatives and or liberal Democrats can promise the westcountry a reversal of many of this governments snubb policies on the southwest particularly on Devon and Cornwall.”