| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3240 Written by Lee on Friday, 19th January 2007 From yesterdays parliamentary debate (link below.) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070118/debtext/70118-0020.htm#07011844000002 Mrs. May: We can tell First Great Western that the Minister is shaking his head and that when it tells us that the Government are being prescriptive, that is not the case and it can widely vary the timetable. However, First Great Western needs the agreement of the Government and Network Rail to vary that timetable. Mr. Harris: I am delighted to have an opportunity to place on the record that the service level commitments contained in franchises are minimum levels of specification. Train operating companies have every right, and are encouraged, to add to that minimum level of service. There is some discontent and a lot of misinformation being circulated in the south-west of the country and the Bristol area. That is not an area that affects her constituency, but it is still the First Great Western franchise. That misinformation has accused the Government of ordering First Great Western to remove carriages from trains. We have been accused of forbidding First Great Western to increase the length of trains. That is nonsense. I am happy to put on the record that the minimum service level commitment is a minimum level. Train operating companies should add value to those levels. Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3241 Written by Lee on Friday, 19th January 2007 Here is a related article. http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/01/farce_track_rail_service.html#more Quote from SLC2 : "3.4 Unless discretion is given in the wording of this Service Level Commitment, the Franchisee must not increase or decrease the number of services nor decrease or cut short the stopping pattern of the services specified. Where discretion is allowed this will normally be shown by using Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3242 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Friday, 19th January 2007 Lee ... from that article: "FGW spokesman Adrian Ruck said the company is meeting all its performance targets so far. If it continues to do so, the franchise could be extended for a further three years." Is Mr Ruck in a different world to us, or is there really an absence of effective targets to monitor the current appalling situation? Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3321 Written by ESP on Monday, 22nd January 2007 [quote author=Graham Ellis link=topic=1131.msg3242#msg3242 date=1169216291] Lee ... from that article: "FGW spokesman Adrian Ruck said the company is meeting all its performance targets so far. If it continues to do so, the franchise could be extended for a further three years." Is Mr Ruck in a different world to us, or is there really an absence of effective targets to monitor the current appalling situation? Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3322 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 22nd January 2007 Dear Mr Ruck, You are quoted as follows in the press: ""FGW spokesman Adrian Ruck said the company is meeting all its performance targets so far."" http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news_article.php?section=5&category=89&story=2656 http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/01/farce_track_rail_service.html I wonder if you can help me understand how this applies to the line I use. On the Swindon to Westbury service we are very used to frequent cancellations and in the last week more than one half of the trains scheduled to run have been cancelled. QUESTION ONE. What is your performance target for this line, and what figures do you have that show you are meeting it? QUESTION TWO. Do you consider your current performance on this service to be adequate irrespective of targets? I have a copy of the SLC2 document dated last summer that shows a requirement to schedule a train to arrive into Swindon from Westbury between 08:00 and 08:30, but no such service is shown on your schedule QUESTION THREE. Can you explain why you are not providing a service within this designated time slot - has the performance requirement been relaxed, for example. If so why, by whom, and with what consultation with customers on the service in question? Customers travelling from West Wiltshire to Swindon are very unhappy with the current schedule, and its appalling (in our opinion) reliability record. We would much appreciate your feedback as an official FGW spokesman on the above questions, for publication on the web site at http://www.savethetrain.org.uk - perhaps there's a problem with the targets, or perhaps you have been misquoted? Whichever, it would be great to have that answered and to move on to working for a service that meet the needs of the customers, which the current one does not. Many thanks Graham Ellis Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3323 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 22nd January 2007 Hello The original quote, as given, was a bit more detailed than as appears but refers to PPM (Public Performance Measure) figures on punctuality and reliability. Regards Adrian Ruck External Relations Manager First Great Western Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3324 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 22nd January 2007 Mr Ruck has not answered my questions, or is there an answer hidden in there somewhere? Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3329 Written by sennencoveuk on Monday, 22nd January 2007 See pages 5 and 6 of this linked .PDF for another opinion on the MP's comments: [url]http://www.bdixon.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/trains/MTLS-2007-01.pdf[/url] Re: Harris Accuses South West / Bristol Campaigners Of "Misinformation" - 1131/3512 Written by Lee on Friday, 26th January 2007 More on the debate in the link below. http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/01/questions_in_house_over_trains.html#more 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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