Ref.: thisisbristol.co.uk
17 January 2007
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Peers complain about poor rail service
THE "poor" performance of rail services linking Bristol to London and the West Country has been criticised by the Government.
Lord Davies of Oldham, transport department spokesman in the House of Lords, said the performance of First Great Western was "not satisfactory".
His comments come as commuters met last night to discuss a fares strike in protest at cutbacks in services and poor conditions after a new timetable was introduced.
Pressure group More Trains Less Strain is planning a day of protest on Monday, which will see commuters refusing to buy tickets or show rail passes.
The campaigners plan to hand out tickets at Bath Spa, Oldfield Park and Keynsham - which look like the standard rail tickets - but have the words "cattle class" printed on them.
Their grievances have now been aired by angry peers in the House of Lords.
Labour peer Lord Berkeley cited 60 trains cancelled daily since December, with some returning to depot "to do nothing".
He said there was so much congestion in Bristol and the Thames valley "that people can't even get on the trains" and some fares on the network had jumped by up to 11 per cent.
Crossbencher Baroness Warnock, 82, said she had had to stand for most of the journey on the last three occasions she had used the train from Paddington to her home near Marlborough, Wiltshire.
She said: "Since the beginning of the year there has been almost a tripling of the cost of the journey on the First Great Western line, which I frequently use, because the trains have been rescheduled as long-distance rather than short-distance trains."
Tory former Welsh Secretary Lord Crickhowell said: "Far from the service improving, trains are more and more frequently very late or are cancelled."
Speaking for the Government, Lord Davies of Oldham said: "(First) Great Western meets the minimum contractual requirements but performance has long been poor compared with long-distance operations elsewhere on the network."
Adrian Ruck, a spokesman for First Great Western, yesterday admitted: "Our services have been poor but they are improving."
Network Rail is spending ú750 million over the next three years on updating aging track and signals, while First Great Western is spending ú100m on refitting its 30-year-old high speed trains with new engines, he said.