Further to Maria’s campaign for passenger improvements on the Wessex Route, she has welcomed the announcement that improvements will not now be delayed until 2019. The route currently operated by South West Trains is one of the most overcrowded in Europe yet is the only rail line in Britain to actually make a profit.
The Government has announced that plans to extend the current franchise by two years have now been axed in favour of improving this important passenger service from 2017. Maria said, “Over the past year I have met Ministers, Network Rail, South West Trains and local Councils to press the importance of urgent improvements to train services on the mainline into Waterloo. Passenger numbers have doubled in the past 20 years and levels of overcrowding are now unacceptable at peak times. I welcome the Government’s decision to get on with refranchising the Wessex route so that improvements in passenger services can start earlier.
“The mainline into Waterloo is the only profitable railway in the country, yet it has not seen the levels of investment made in other parts of the railway network and we have been left with what can only be called a cattle truck service on some peak time trains with passengers experiencing standing room only on peak time services for journeys of up to an hour. That has to change. What this mainline route needs is more, faster, longer trains with smart ticketing and wi-fi that works so that passenger journeys can be shorter and more productive. The announcement to refranchise the service in 2017 means these improvements can start earlier and help ensure our trains can cope with the increase in demand.
“Network Rail already have plans in place to improve signalling, which will help speed up the service but too many trains running in the peak morning period do not have the number of seats needed to cope with the number of passengers using the service. The re franchising has to bring this important mainline service into the 21 Century.”