Lib Dems under fire over train subsidies

[AJR]

Ref.: thisisbristol

16 January 2007

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Lib Dems under fire over train subsidies

Bristol's ruling councillors have been accused of hypocrisy over their stance on the row about the city's suburban railways.Labour party members blamed the city council's decision to withdraw a subsidy for the Severn Beach railway line as starting the rot which threatens to damage the route's existence.

Group leader Helen Holland said the Lib Dem cabinet should be doing more to enhance the service and promote rail use.

Dennis Brown, executive member in charge of transport, said the service was out of the council's hands and was the responsibility of First Great Western.

He is due to meet representatives of the transport giant today to discuss the future of the suburban lines. But he said the council was committed to maintaining the lines for the amount of demand which existed and pointed the finger at central Government for investing too heavily in other forms of transport.

Ms Holland said: "I find it astonishing that the Lib Dem cabinet councillor in charge of transport for Bristol, who claims to be a member of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, does not see the damage he caused last year by axing this subsidy.

"It is exactly as we said, that the removal of the city council subsidy to the Severn Beach Railway line has started the rot which threatens to seriously damage the use of this line for commuters to Bristol city centre.

"We warned that local authority contributions were vital to this commuter service, but Councillor Brown insisted that First Great Western could run it with no subsidy.

"Other, more enlightened councils have continued to subsidise their suburban train services, even after the new franchises were awarded, and some have even increased their grants to the train operator.

"Councillor Brown and his Lib Dem colleagues are keen to blame everything on the Government, but in fact they have the power to improve this potential commuter line themselves. It would keep cars off the road and could easily be funded locally."

Mr Brown said: "It is not a case of us reinstating the subsidy because it was taken over as part of the First franchise.

"A lot of the problems are to do with central Government directing its attention to bus transport rather than subsidy grants for what is a much more expensive system, namely rail.

"It's environmentally a very desirable form of transport but it's difficult because there are major sums involved.

"We are committed to getting an effective service which is not one which requires extreme subsidy.

"How far we can enhance the service needs to be carefully looked at."

[mow]

Council reinstates train subsidy

The money will pay for an extra train to run every 30-50 minutes
Bristol City Council has decided to reinstate the subsidy for the Severn Beach Line after axing it one year ago.
The money will be spent providing a more regular train service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth.

The council voted to scrap the subsidy in 2006 after First Great Western (FGW) won the contract and agreed to continue to run an hourly service.

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) petitioned the council for a service running every 30 or 40 minutes.

FOSBR members sent 561 postcards to the council in response to a budget consultation.

Cut congestion

The Liberal Democrat-run council will allocate the money for an extra train for a trial period from December 2007 until March 2010.

They will spend ú140,000 "for the first quarter" between winter 2007 and spring 2008 and an additional ú450,000 has been allocated until the end of the three-year trial.

FOSBR campaigner Julie Boston said: "We're delighted by the decision. It shows the Lib Dems are listening to local people and that they want to use the local rail network to cut congestion.

"Running the more frequent service for a two to three-year trial period is a great idea - it will provide enough time to increase passenger numbers and show the potential of the line."

Council leader Barbara Janke said the money to pay for the extra train has come from a successful crackdown on fraudulent claims for 'lone household' discounts on council tax bills.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/glou ... 302003.stm

[tugboatcharly2]

There is after all some signs of intelligentsia in the Liberal party hiding in the council house Bristolians you dont know how lucky you are but remember there is an election looming up soon and they could just as easy revert back to type and take the subsidy away again.