Rail service in decline (From Gazette Series)

Rail service in decline

COMMUTERS departing from Cam and Dursley station may have their journeys hampered from next month, according to a station campaign group.

Coaley Junction Action Committee said from the end of next month rail passengers wanting to reach Gloucester during the morning rush-hour will face a one-and-a-half gap in service.

Spokesman Dr Clive Mowforth said the news is a further blow to passengers.

He said: "The news comes after Virgin virtually wiped Gloucester off its map last autumn, leaving just a single train in each direction.

"While Wessex Trains was supposed to fill the gap with a new Bristol-Gloucester service, no extra trains were added for commuters to the city in the morning. "Now the first Wessex train to the city will set off later from Bristol, widening further the already huge hole in the timetable."

From May 23 there will be two trains from the south arriving in Gloucester before 8.30am.

There will be one Virgin Trains arrival at 6.57am and the Wessex Trains arrival at 8.27am. For commuters from Cam and Dursley and Yate stations there will only be the Wessex Trains service.

Dr Mowforth added: "This is an extremely poor service. It is no good for anyone starting work in Gloucester between 7.30 and 8.30am - just when most people want to start work."

He added the latest news continues a deteriorating trend.

"There used to be four services from the south arriving at Gloucester before 8.30am," he added. "That was cut to three in May last year and then to two in September. Now the gap between them is to widen."

Dr Mowforth said the group would continue to lobby for a more sensible solution.

"There is a train that is run empty to Gloucester to form the 8.40am southbound departure," he said. "This could be held at Bristol and run as a passenger service in between the existing Virgin and Wessex Trains services.

"We pointed this out to Wessex Trains and the county council last autumn but nothing has happened. We will have to continue lobbying."

Wessex Trains spokeswoman Anne-Marie Delrosa said the changes to the rush-hour service had to be made due to a change in the departure time of another train service which leaves Bristol Temple Meads to head north before the one arriving in Gloucester at 8.27am.

"We have tried to maintain all the calls at Cam and Dursley at critical times, such as during the peak commuting hours. For December, 2004, we are looking at the possibility of increasing local stops and bringing the timetable into line to what it was before the new service was implemented."

Ms Delrosa said the current Wessex Trains service implementation, to provide an hourly 'fast' service from Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester was a directive from the Strategic Rail Authority to cover the withdrawal of the Virgin Cross-Country services calling at Gloucester.

She added: "We very much welcome the input of the Coaley Junction Action Committee. The group's suggestion regarding an earlier morning train from Cam and Dursley to Gloucester is being considered by our service planners."