Oxford Mail reports from public railway meeting
Last Friday saw a public meeting called by David Cameron MP, after the Charlbury Website highlighted the appalling train service currently provided by First Great Western.
Regular poster William Crossley reported on the meeting for the Oxford Mail:
A First Great Western boss tonight admitted to Cotswold Line commuters his rail service was "unacceptable".
And Mike Carroll, First Great Western's route manager for London and the Thames Valley, also said he could not justify this year's fare increases as he faced dozens of commuters and passengers at a public meeting at the Corner House, in Charlbury.
But he pledged to take steps to drive up performance and "stop shooting ourselves in the foot".
Witney MP and Conservative Party leader David Cameron told the standing room only meeting he had received a massive amount of correspondence from angry rail users about poor performance on the route between Oxford and Worcester.
Mr Carroll said: "The level of service we have provided is unacceptable and is unacceptable to us as well. I apologise profusely."
First Great Western had made promises in the past that had not been delivered, he added.
The meeting heard that the performance of a new timetable introduced last month was being reviewed on a daily basis.
When asked by Mr Cameron if the timetable was deliverable, Mr Carroll replied that he thought it was.
Mr Carroll added: "If we stop shooting ourselves in the foot and work with Network Rail, we can get the reliability we need. We won't throw away the timetable."
Caroline Shenton, who commutes daily to London, told the meeting she now caught a train an hour earlier than before to ensure she was at work on time, because of the unreliability of the service.
She added: "Our priority is punctuality. We want a reliable service we can get to Oxford, Reading and Paddington."
Passenger Malcolm Harper said: "In the past six months, 70 per cent of the trains I have caught have been at least 15 minutes late or did not run at all. Really, I'm just fed up with it."
When quizzed about the recent fare increase, Mr Carroll said he could not justify it, but added: "We were expecting performance to be much better when we took that decision."
Mr Cameron listed a series of points for action and asked Mr Carroll to attend a follow-up meeting at Easter.
The list included improved information systems at the stations, clear information about management responsibilities and action on providing overnight stabling facilities for trains at Hereford and Worcester.
Mr Carroll said work to repair power supplies at sidings in Hereford was due to be completed within a week.
After the meeting, Mr Carroll told the Oxford Mail: "It is clear these people are passionate about their railway service. I'm passionate about giving them a good service."
Mr Cameron said: "It was a very productive meeting. I welcome the frankness and candour from FGW.
"I sense that they want to make promises and stick to them. We want to get this sorted out. It's a vitally important issue, causing huge upset, not just in Charlbury, but more widely."
Richard Fairhurst · Mon 21 Jan 2008, 17:46 · Link