Action needed to tackle overcrowded trains and soaring fares
Conservative proposals unveiled to improve
Cllr Graham Evans, Prospective MP for Weaver Vale, added hisbacking to new Conservative plans to make rail services across
By contrast, under the current Government, overcrowding is becoming an ever greater problem on the railways, and Virgin is increasing fares by6% on season tickets and 6% on leisure fares this year.
The proposals, unveiled in a Conservative rail review, call for:
· Longer, better franchises: Short franchises discourage private sector investment in better trains. Instead, 15-20 year franchises should be the norm to give greater certainty and encourage investment in new and better trains.
· Innovation in local rail improvements: Funding for smaller scale capacity enhancements, currently dealt with by Network Rail, should be contestable and open to other providers, including train operating companies, local councils and Community Rail Partnerships.
· A moratorium on building on disused rail paths: Any disused railway lines still in public ownership should be conserved for the moment, to keep alive the possibility of reopening them to rail travel in the future. Protecting these corridors will also allow their use by pedestrians and cyclists in the interim.
· Setting the pace on high speed rail: There should be a new high speed line connecting Leeds,
· A new Passenger Champion: Passengers should have a one-stop-shop to complain to when things go wrong and to represent their interests; it would have the power to bang heads together to ensure that performance is improved, regardless of where the fault lies.
Cllr Graham Evans said: “The Government now has more control over the railways than in the days of British Rail. But after a decade of Labour, our railways are becoming more and more overcrowded and increasingly expensive, with fares soaring this year.
“We desperately need new capacity with longer trains, longer platforms and additional lines. These practical proposals would give a greater say for local people and less for
FEBRUARY 2009
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