Now They've Run Out of Trains!

Published in Stockport Express on Wed 18th Feb 2009

Overcrowded trains and frustrated commuters have been a big feature of my in-tray since new timetables on our local rail services started last December.

The trouble is that fewer and shorter trains are running into Piccadilly from Hazel Grove, Davenport and Woodsmoor in the rush hour. The crush is so great that sometimes people are left on the platform, quite unable to get on board. In the evening it was even worse, with extra anger because a connecting train through Deansgate and Oxford Road no longer stopped at Hazel Grove.

I first challenged Northern Rail on this back in September, three months beforehand, but they went ahead anyway. Now, after a huge passenger revolt, they have agreed to stop the through train in the evening rush hour at Hazel Grove. I am grateful for that bit of commonsense, but they still need to fix the morning rush hour problem.

The fact is that they cannot until they put longer trains on the service. To do that they need more carriages. So now the fight is on to get the surplus trains on the Oldham loop transferred to our line as soon as possible.

The bad news is that so far the Government's idea is to use them on longer distance services elsewhere. I have already been asking questions in Parliament about building more new trains - now it seems we have to fight even to get the ones we've got put to good use locally.

I will be campaigning hard for those local trains to be switched to our commuter lines. It is amazing that after so long encouraging everyone to use public transport, just when they really do, the country runs out of trains. We need to put that right, starting now.