| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Calls For More Funding For West Country Trains - 1006/2805 Written by Lee on Monday, 8th January 2007 Campaign groups have called for more pressure to be put on the government to release funding for improvements to railway services in the west country (link below.) http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/01/calls_for_more_funding_for_tra.html#more "Unless the MPs hit the phones this weekend, then my guess is there's going to more cuts to come" - Chris Irwin Andrew Griffiths : "What we have committed to do as part of the franchise obligation is to provide the same number of seats in the evening and the morning peaks by using the high speed trains more effectively." Labour MP for Reading West Martin Salter : "I think First Great Western should be given a very short timescale to put this situation right in order to solve problems that are entirely of their own making." "If they don't, I think the franchise should be awarded to someone else." The government told BBC News they want the railway network to grow to keep up with demand. Re: Calls For More Funding For West Country Trains - 1006/2900 Written by bubblecat on Wednesday, 10th January 2007 Although the train companies are private - is there any argument against the government giving subsidies to the parts of the network which do not "make" money according to FGW? There could be an agreement between some profits going to the less viable options if met with similar money from the government - if this is not agreed then the contract could be taken away from the current holder. It seems to me that although the government allowed privatisation they still have an obligation to step in when these companies will not provide a service that is needed to get people to work and home again (I mean, that is where the overcrowding happens, the commutor rush). The government still holds the power to remove companies - they are therefore still very much involved and rightly so in my opinion. You can not run an effective country and it's economy, unless it can move about. If the government is serious about the green option and their workforce being able to commute then they need this involvement with transport. link to index of articles |
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Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham. Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome. The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users. We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can. -- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021 | |||
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