Mp Demands answers on Severn Beach Closures
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:48 pm
From the Bristol Evening Post
MP Stephen Williams will meet with First Great Western this week to discuss the closure of the Severn Beach line.
The line between Avonmouth and Bristol Temple Meads was closed last Wednesday and had a limited service on Thursday and Friday, causing huge disruption to commuters.
With more bad weather expected today and tomorrow, it is possible the service could be affected again.
Mr Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, has a meeting scheduled with FGW managing director Mark Hopwood on Thursday to discuss issues including the line.
Mr Williams said: "My understanding is that points freeze on the Severn Beach line but not on the main line where they are heated. It is not entirely FGW's fault, as Network Rail plays a part in closing the line.
"But I shall be asking Mr Hopwood whether they are pushing for the points to be treated properly, so in future bad weather we don't get the same problem. This is the 21st century but it seems any excuse to close the line, they take."
Dave Wood, from the Bristol Rail Maritime and Transport Union, also criticised the decision to close the track. He said: "FGW said the Severn Beach railway line was badly affected by snow due to its geography and this contributed to the closure of the line.
"We are talking about a local railway line, not a line that is windswept out in the middle of nowhere like Exmoor."
Dan Panes, a spokesman for FGW, said: "We were able to run 90 per cent of our services during and after the heavy snowfall, when many other modes of transport continued to struggle, and the strategy of suspending lines most likely to be affected was instrumental in this."
MP Stephen Williams will meet with First Great Western this week to discuss the closure of the Severn Beach line.
The line between Avonmouth and Bristol Temple Meads was closed last Wednesday and had a limited service on Thursday and Friday, causing huge disruption to commuters.
With more bad weather expected today and tomorrow, it is possible the service could be affected again.
Mr Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, has a meeting scheduled with FGW managing director Mark Hopwood on Thursday to discuss issues including the line.
Mr Williams said: "My understanding is that points freeze on the Severn Beach line but not on the main line where they are heated. It is not entirely FGW's fault, as Network Rail plays a part in closing the line.
"But I shall be asking Mr Hopwood whether they are pushing for the points to be treated properly, so in future bad weather we don't get the same problem. This is the 21st century but it seems any excuse to close the line, they take."
Dave Wood, from the Bristol Rail Maritime and Transport Union, also criticised the decision to close the track. He said: "FGW said the Severn Beach railway line was badly affected by snow due to its geography and this contributed to the closure of the line.
"We are talking about a local railway line, not a line that is windswept out in the middle of nowhere like Exmoor."
Dan Panes, a spokesman for FGW, said: "We were able to run 90 per cent of our services during and after the heavy snowfall, when many other modes of transport continued to struggle, and the strategy of suspending lines most likely to be affected was instrumental in this."