Local trains hit by underfunding

A rail watchdog has condemned the lack of investment by the Department of Transport in Swindon and the south west trains.

TravelWatch SouthWest, a public transport passenger pressure group, claims the DfT has failed to provide an adequate number of carriages to meet growing demand in Swindon and neighbouring towns and cities.

The organisation made the claims a day after the Government announced it was investing billions of pounds in electrification and in the building of a new high-speed line linking London with Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

The organisation believes the plans fail to adequately deal with ongoing issues in the M4 corridor – home of Britain’s information economy – or as it is sometimes referred to the UK’s Silicon Valley.

Chris Irwin, the chairman of TravelWatch SouthWest, said: “Lord Adonis (the Transport Secretary) has announced the spending of thirty billion pounds on the building of a new high-speed line between London, and the Midlands and the North of England.

“Meanwhile there is fully justified and rising concern about overcrowded train services in all the significant urban conurbations in the region with passengers frequently left standing on the platform “The trains are great news for many, but rail passengers in the south west continue to suffer severe overcrowding on local and regional services and are frequently unable to even board some trains.”

Plans for a new £30 billion high-speed rail network, with 225mph trains, was announced by the Government on Thursday.

Running from Euston in London, the first part of the route –- from London to Birmingham – would start in 2017, cost between £15.8bn and £17.4bn and reduce the journey time between the UK’s two biggest cities to between 30 and 50 minutes.

Eventually the plans also hope to drastically reduce rail journey times on the 335-mile London to Scotland High Speed Rail network.

A DfT spokesman said: “Transferring long distance journeys between the major cities onto the high speed network releases capacity on the conventional network which could be used to enhance commuter, suburban and freight services. “Total public expenditure on transport (including road and rail, local authorities and public corporations) in the south west has increased by 30 per cent in the last five years from £854m in 2003/04 to £1,113m in 2007/08.”