Gist of David Cameron's letter re Trains
This is a precis of the letter David Cameron sent following his meeting back in March with FGW. Lets see what happens!
Short term
FGW said they would work hard to improve the very poor level of service. They have made some incremental changes to the timetable which came into effect yesterday. For instance, the 06.03 from London Paddington through to Worcester – a problematic service which has continually impacted on the punctuality of trains coming in the opposite direction – has been brought forward to 05.52. This should help with the punctuality of the morning services to Oxford and London along the Cotswold Line.
I pressed them very hard about whether there are any other things they could do or change that would make a difference, particularly for those people commuting from Charlbury and Hanborough to Oxford and London, and they said they would look into this carefully.
Medium term
FGW have made clear pledges on a number of fronts.
First, the implementation of a new customer information system. Initially this will go out to tender for six months. The implementation of the new system will then take a further twelve months to complete.
Second, the replacement of the Adelante trains with High Speed Trains (HSTs). They accepted the inadequacy of the Adelantes in contributing to the current problems and have committed themselves to introducing the HSTs to coincide with the introduction of the new timetable at the end of the year. They told me that they would have selective door opening and so would be able to stop at stations with short platforms.
Long term
Network Rail gave a presentation about the prospect of redoubling the Cotswold Line. If this consists of a partial upgrade between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, then this could happen as soon as 2010. If it is to be a comprehensive redoubling then it could take longer. They explained the process behind their proposal, and they said they would come back to us in October after feasibility studies have been carried out.
Susie Finch · Fri 8 Jun 2007, 18:02 · Link