From the Bristol Evening Post
The state of First Great Western's rail service has forced North Somerset Council to scrap its plan to send pupils to school by train.
The authority wanted to stop providing the buses it runs each day to take the scores of students who live in Yatton to Backwell School and give them rail passes instead.
The move would have affected 185 students - and saved ú37,457 a year.
But the council says that concerns about the reliability and capacity of trains travelling from Yatton to Nailsea and Backwell Station, following the introduction of First Great Western's new timetable in December, mean the idea has been shelved.
The decision to pull the plug on the idea came after First Great Western bosses said they could not guarantee space for the students on the already packed trains.
Concerns were also raised about the safety of nearly 200 students who would be forced to wait on narrow platforms for trains to arrive.
Regional manager for First Great Western, Andrew Griffiths, said: "The most important issue for us is the safety of our passengers.
"Nailsea and Backwell Station has a very narrow platform and there are high speed trains passing through at 90mph.
"Having a large number of children on such a narrow platform would create an unacceptable safety hazard.
"The secondary issue is that the trains that the children want to travel on are at particular times of day where there are no high speed trains available which could accommodate the number of students. To enable us to take the students five miles up the track we would have to put on two extra carriages.
"We simply do not have the spare carriages and if we did would be using them for our commuter trains.
"As a result of these concerns we have had to make the decision not to carry this idea forward."
The news has been welcomed by teachers and governors at Backwell School who had raised concerns about the safety of students using the railways.
Backwell School head teacher Julian Baldwin, governors and parents had written to North Somerset school transport chiefs to raise concerns about the travel changes.
Mr Baldwin said: "I think this is a very sensible decision because it was a matter of student safety.
"We are very pleased that the council listened to the views of the school."
Railways Can't Cope With School Run Bid
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carpetcone
- regular
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 10:51 pm
- Location: North Somerset
This money saving plan was and is, typical of North Somerset Council
It was a complete non starter from the minute it was suggested. I wonder how much cash was wasted on the investigation?
Most children in the Yatton pickup area would have to walk over a mile to actually get to Yatton station in the first place, regardless of whether the trains could cope or even arrive at all.
Probably the same planners who removed the roadside vendor from the Portbury Hundred, then spent a reported ú25K on making a storage area for road planings and cones on the site alongside the main road to Portishead!
God help me, I live in North Somerset.
The council person responsible is Elfan Ap Rees who is Mr Big of the Helicopter Museum. I wonder how much the museum get from government slush funds eh?!
Steve
It was a complete non starter from the minute it was suggested. I wonder how much cash was wasted on the investigation?
Most children in the Yatton pickup area would have to walk over a mile to actually get to Yatton station in the first place, regardless of whether the trains could cope or even arrive at all.
Probably the same planners who removed the roadside vendor from the Portbury Hundred, then spent a reported ú25K on making a storage area for road planings and cones on the site alongside the main road to Portishead!
God help me, I live in North Somerset.
The council person responsible is Elfan Ap Rees who is Mr Big of the Helicopter Museum. I wonder how much the museum get from government slush funds eh?!
Steve