From the same set of oral questions :
Natascha Engel: I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box, and I hope that he has a long and illustrious career. As he knows, Dronfield, the largest town in my constituency, has a population of some 25,000. Ten trains stop at Dronfield railway station every day. Let us compare that with Alfreton, a nearby town, which has a population a third the size of that of Dronfield but three times as many trains. Ninety-three trains a day stop in Long Eaton, which is far smaller than Dronfield. What is my hon. Friend doing to influence the current round of bids for the east midlands rail franchise to ensure that demographic changes in places such as Derbyshire are taken into account?
Mr. Harris: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her kind comments, and I pay tribute to her for her energetic campaign of work on behalf of her constituents on the subject of her question—especially the Dronfield station action group, whose members I was privileged to meet earlier this afternoon. My hon. Friend rightly points out that the east midlands franchise provides an opportunity to improve services at Dronfield. I can confirm that a new service between Nottingham and Leeds was included in the east midlands franchise document that the Department issued in June, and I am confident that it offers the genuine prospect of an improved service to Dronfield.
Here is a link on Dronfield Railway Station , which was closed in 1967 and re-opened in 1981.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dronfield_railway_stationHere is a link to the current timetable (Pages 36 - 38)
http://www.centraltrains.co.uk/upload/legacyImages/Guide%205%20LF%2006%20WEB.pdfAs you can see , there is NO effective commuter journey that passengers can make in both directions from Dronfield.
Here is a section from the East Midlands Franchise Consultation Document (page 28 of the link below.)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_611833.pdf"Leeds and Nottingham are important regional centres, however, the rail links between the two cities are poor and the M1 is subject to periodic congestion. The case for a direct rail service is strong.
The DfT has initiated exploratory discussions with Northern Rail about providing such a service, by extending to Nottingham the existing semi-fast service between Leeds and Sheffield (via Barnsley). This poses significant operational complexities, particularly at Nottingham station and between Leeds and Sheffield, and an even interval frequency with other services on all sections of the route may not prove possible. It is intended these trains would make some calls at Dronfield, Alfreton and Langley Mill, giving a significant increase in the number of trains at each station.
Negotiations with Northern Rail are still at an early stage, but it is hoped that a service could be implemented by December 2008. If negotiations with Northern Rail do not conclude successfully the full service could be operated by the East Midland franchise.
To create capacity for this service it may no longer be possible to run any London services on the Nottingham to Chesterfield route. As a consequence Langley Mill and Alfreton will lose their two through services a day to London. This will be mitigated by roughly doubling the number of services between Langley Mill and Alfreton to Nottingham where a connection for London can be made."
Quite a contrast then between the possible futures of Dronfield (population 25,000) and Melksham (population 24,000) , given their VERY similiar circumstances and histories.
By coincidence , by extending to Nottingham the existing semi-fast service between Leeds and Sheffield (via Barnsley) to provide extra services for Dronfield , the DfT will be extending the very same service that replaced the local trains that are the focus of the campaign below.
http://www.stopthetrain.org.uk/index.cfm
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