Rail Campaign Gathers Speed
In the last issue we kicked off our Rail Campaign - campaigning for a better
funded and more publicly accountable rail network. We included a short rail passenger
questionnaire to assess what improvements are needed to trains serving Birmingham
and the West Midlands. Thank you to all of you who filled out the questionnaires
and added some useful and informative comments to boot. Not surprisingly, most
of you regarded better punctuality and reliability as the most important improvements
needed, but many other concerns also surfaced.
Some useful suggestions
Several points emerged from the comments and suggestions which some of you made.
Many of you were unhappy with the lack of information at some locations when
trains were running late or were cancelled. There is nothing worse than turning
up at a cold unstaffed station at night and being kept in the dark about how
late your train is running or whether it will turn up at all! One unpleasant
memory like this will deter infrequent users from trains and they may never
use the service again. Similarly a pleasant and safe station environment should
not be underestimated in attracting users from their cars. The need for warm
and safe waiting areas, useable toilets and generally cleaner stations was commented
on by several of you. Another concern was the lack of a visible staff presence
on suburban trains. This makes many passengers feel less safe especially on services
at night, and deters many users who will opt for the isolation (and perceived
greater safety) of their car.
Out on the platform
We undertook some passenger questionnaires at University and Erdington on the
Cross-City Line and at Birmingham Moor Street served by trains from Stourbridge
Leamington/Solihull and Stratford-upon -Avon. Passengers waiting for their trains
were only too glad to share their experiences with us and were very helpful in
answering our questions. Again, improved punctuality and fewer cancellations
were identified as the most important priority. We were surprised at how big
a problem overcrowding is during the peak periods and as we carried out our surveys
during the evening peak, we were able to witness this at first hand. Several
respondents said that on many occasions, overcrowding was so bad that it was
physically impossible to get on the train! Another criticism was the poor cleanliness
of many trains.
Despite all of these problems, many people liked using the services and on the
whole they thought they were reasonably good value for money (when trains ran
on time!). Overcrowding on the Cross City Line will hopefully be eased to a certain
extent when the service frequency is increased to every ten minutes between Longbridge
and Lichfield. Unfortunately to achieve this, a train will have to be 'robbed' from
the Coventry to Birmingham local service and electric trains will have to be
scavenged from the Walsall line only to be replaced by diesel trains. Clearly
there are not enough trains to go around, so Centro is forced to do a juggling
act!
Levels of dissatisfaction were higher with the services from Birmingham Snow
Hill and Moor St to Solihull, /Leamington and Shirley/Stratford-upon-Avon. These
services are less frequent than on the Cross City line particularly in the evening,
when trains run largely only every hour. An important point to emerge from our
questionnaires was the poor service between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Considering the service links a major tourist town with England's second city,
you think this would justify a much better service. At the moment, if you see
an evening performance at a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, then you will probably
miss the last train home - it departs at 21:30 (20:28 on Saturday). Similarly,
the last train from Birmingham to Stratford is just as early (20:25).
Over the next few weeks we shall be highlighting some of these concerns, bringing
them to the attention of a wider audience.
The Strategic Rail Plan. What's in it for us?
'Not enough'', was the message from West Midlands transport chiefs, local government
and transport campaigners. The ten year Strategic Plan drawn up by the Strategic
Rail Authority will see most of the money being used to tackle congestion in
London and the South East. The overall pot of money is just not large enough,
with the result that there is little left over for the major improvements which
are urgently required in the regions and in particular the West Midlands. It
has been pointed out that rail congestion in the Birmingham area was not just
an issue affecting the West Midlands, but had significance for the rail network
on a national scale. Birmingham New Street station is already operating close
to its limit so any problem such as a train failure can cause total chaos. In
three years time the pedestrian capacity limit of the station will have been
reached, so there will be the incredible prospect of entry to parts of the station
being closed off to passengers at peak periods for safety re asons. No large-scale
improvements will be possible until after 2010.
Rail Week of Action 13th - 20th April 2002.
A high profile week of rail awareness
is to be staged nationally by FOE throughout the country in an effort to pressurise
the government for a better funded rail network, and we shall be staging some
events here in Birmingham. If you would like to get involved or if you think
there are any specific services or aspects of services we should be highlighting,
please contact us.
Martin Stride