Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke, has joined forces with senior Council Leaders to call for urgent action to tackle chronic overcrowding on Basingstoke’s trains.
Evidence from Network Rail’s new Wessex Route Plan now shows Basingstoke is on the busiest railway line in the country with standing room only for passengers on many peak time trains. The Plan currently out for consultation identifies that the mainline from Basingstoke to Waterloo needs a staggering 40% increase in capacity by 2043.
Maria Miller has demonstrated the need for more train investment with a transport summit in Basingstoke which was followed by Hampshire County Council’s rail summit.
Maria said, “Trains to and from Basingstoke have become seriously over crowded at peak times and standing room only is often the norm between Basingstoke and Waterloo. Passengers need action now to introduce more, longer trains around peak times, evenings and weekends; as well as long term solutions like double decker trains. Our mainline train service needs to be able to cope with the additional pressures more house building could bring. Some of these changes can be made now through signalling upgrades that could made a huge difference to Basingstoke residents.
Maria commented: “I have met Rail Minister Claire Perry to identify how Basingstoke can be supported. We have seen thousands of houses built in recent years, thousands more planned and 1000 new businesses created in the Borough in the past year alone. All of our transport links need to deal with the demands this creates and rail is no different.”