Row over cutback in train carriages
Train commuters who have been promised relief from standing-only trains were today dealt a blow.
Public transport bosses say the Government is back-tracking on plans to supply 70 more carriages for suburban operator Northern Rail to slash overcrowding problems.
Now there are fears that pledges to lengthen the rush hour Wallgate/Manchester services – many of which are habitually standing room only because of the success of winning back passengers to rail – may have to go onto the back burner.
Northern Rail is now likely to get just 106 of the 182 carriages previously pledged, it has been revealed.
Now the chairman of Wigan's public transport body, the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) is writing to the Transport Minister Chris Mole asking for him to give the situation "urgent attention".
GMITA is also calling on the borough's MPs and rail user groups to support a campaign to get Greater Manchester its fair share of carriages as previously promised.
Parliamentarians will have the opportunity to voice their concerns at the Westminster Hall debate 'Spending on railways in the North of England' later today.
Chairman of GMITA Coun Keith Whitmore said today that the news was extremely disappointing and he feared the area was going to be "shortchanged."
He said: "Over the past 18 months the Department for Transport has repeatedly pledged 182 carriages for Northern Rail, and I have been given no plausible reason why this should now be slashed by over 40 per cent.
"We have no guarantee around how many of the carriages will be new, whether any second-hand ones will be refurbished, or when they can be added to overcrowded services.
"This comes at a time when the demand for rail in our city region has never been higher.
"Many services are overcrowded and at some stations passengers cannot even get on the busiest trains at peak times. Fewer carriages would not just be a blow for passengers, but for the region as a whole.
"This is a time to be investing in our future economic growth by offering frequent and reliable transport links that can meet passenger demands.
Rail commuting across Greater Manchester has grown at a rate of over twice that in London in the past five years, he pointed out.
But while London and the South East have had 580 new carriages in that period, Northern Rail has had not had a single one delivered under this plan.
Between 1995/6 and 2007/8 passenger journeys were up by 57% in Greater Manchester.
But over half of all trains in the peak now have standing passengers.
He insisted: "The north really is the poor relation to the South when it comes to transport spending."
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Weather for Wigan
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 2 C
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