From the Bristol Evening Post
The fight to improve Bristol's rail services will be taken to Rail Minister Tom Harris tomorrow by Bristol West MP Kerry McCarthy.
Ms McCarthy planned the meeting several months ago to discuss frequency issues about the controversial Severn Beach line.
But given the furore surrounding First Great Western's performance since a new timetable came into effect last month, she now has a whole new raft of issues to discuss.
These will include the cost of tickets, performance, punctuality and the availability of rolling stock to prevent chronic overcrowding. Campaigners for better rail services in the region welcomed the move and urged politicians in the Bristol area to follow her example.
They said all elected representatives should fight harder on the issue and urged them to have confidence in their influence.
Campaigners from the More Trains Less Strain group will meet in Bath next week to discuss the problems and are expected to confirm a fare strike, to take place at the end of this month.
Ms McCarthy said: "The meeting with Tom is something I requested two months ago, originally about the Severn Beach line but now it's about First Great Western.
"It's the ongoing issue of poor performance and the latest fare increases which have been announced.
"I speak to Tom quite a lot on an informal basis but I'm getting a lot of complaints from people who feel they aren't getting the services they deserve and something needs to be said formally.
"There's a whole raft of issues to discuss and it can be hard to see exactly where the blame lies.
Ms McCarthy also said she would discuss the format of First Great Western's 10-year franchise in the South West.
Despite a lack of funds needed to buy more rolling stock, this year will see the company start to pay back the ú1.1 billion it owes the Government for winning the franchise, just two years after the deal was struck.
She said: "It's always been my concern that as soon as they won the franchise they would have to start paying massive amounts of money back to the Government.
"But if a company bids to run a franchise it should know exactly what is involved in operating it properly, otherwise it makes a mockery of the whole process."
Tony Ambrose, spokesman for passenger pressure group More Trains Less Train, said: "My advice to her would be to tell the Government that it's time to bite the bullet because the system of franchising is breaking down.
"We would urge her to tell Tom Harris that FGW should be relieved of the franchise with a not-for-profit company running the region's trains in the short term while the Government works out how it can re-nationalise the railways."
Julie Boston, spokeswoman for the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, said: "MPs send us supportive letters when we ask them for help but they and local councillors don't seem to think that they have any power to make a real difference.
"We are delighted that Ms McCarthy is going to talk to the minister but all the MPs should be doing this, because they are not powerless and as elected representatives it is their responsibility to do so."