RMT join fight to save Wrexham/Birmingham service

[merlodlliw]

The RMT have today sent out this media release,it will appear in the North Wales dailies tomorrow,with supporters comments.

RMT in fight to save Wrexham, Birmingham and Shrewsbury rail services

Transport union RMT is joining forces with rail users to save services between
Wrexham and Birmingham and Shrewsbury.

A campaign is now under way to protect the train services which are believed to be under threat. RMT and the Shrewsbury to Chester Rail Users Association (SCRUA), which has represented the travelling public using the line since 1986 understands that the current franchise holder, Arriva Trains Wales, is investigating plans to axe the 0747 Wrexham to Birmingham rail service from the timetable from May 2015. Also facing the chop is understood to be the 0700 from Shrewsbury which arrives in Wrexham at 0739.

As the SCRUA campaign group points out, the 0747 from Wrexham calls at Ruabon, Chirk, and Gobowen and provides an important direct service for commuters and students from NE Wales to the West Midlands and Birmingham Airport. It is very busy train. Records show that there has always been a train to Birmingham at around the same time, even in Great Western days when it ran to Paddington.

It is now being proposed that the Holyhead to Cardiff ‘Premier’ express
service, which currently runs non-stop between Wrexham and Shrewsbury, should stop additionally at Ruabon, Chirk and Gobowen. But it runs 15 minutes earlier (currently 07.32 from Wrexham) and passengers for the Birmingham line would face inconvenience and delay to their journeys through having to change at Shrewsbury.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“RMT stands shoulder to shoulder with the SCRUA users group in their fight to
save services that are currently threatened by Arriva Trains Wales and we are calling on the company to back off. We know that this campaign also enjoys high profile political support and the union will be looking to maximise that through our own contacts.

“The train company needs to listen to the rail users and the staff and pull back from these ill-conceived plans before lasting damage is done to highly-valued and important services.”

ENDS

 

[Clip]

Id there firm plans for this?

Also how much delay would passengers for Brum face if they had a change at Shrewsbury

 

[merlodlliw]

Id there firm plans for this?

Also how much delay would passengers for Brum face if they had a change at Shrewsbury

Depart Wrexham 15 minutes earlier and hang around Salop for ten minutes or so,the point is the current service to Birmingham is to be replaced by a service to Cardiff, the vast majority heading South from up here travel to the West Midlands for work.

 

[berneyarms]

Id there firm plans for this?

Also how much delay would passengers for Brum face if they had a change at Shrewsbury

They would have to leave 15 minutes earlier from Wrexham.

The wait at Shrewsbury would be 18 minutes, but half of the onward connecting train would be there during all of that time, compared with 5 minutes currently.

 

[Tracky]

The Welsh Government want additional Aberystwyth services without any additional rolling stock.

Train Planners have come up with the idea of removing the service from Wrexham which follows the express and making the express a stopper to release the unit. The released unit forms an additional train from Aberystwyth and atatches to the train in from Crewe (just as the wrexham one does now).

The local press have been blaming ATW which, while they don't always make the right choice, annoys me. Give them some credit - robbing Peter to pay Paula is all they can do.

 

[Clip]

They would have to leave 15 minutes earlier from Wrexham.

The wait at Shrewsbury would be 18 minutes, but half of the onward connecting train would be there during all of that time, compared with 5 minutes currently.

Smashing. Thanks for that. Does sound rather a foolish idea then I must say.

 

[berneyarms]

Smashing. Thanks for that. Does sound rather a foolish idea then I must say.

Well the problem is finding rolling stock to provide this and at the same time providing extra services on the Cambrian main line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.

ATW are somewhat caught in the middle of all this, in that the WG wants extra services, but there's no spare rolling stock. Hence this suggestion, but which has attracted some angst from certain quarters as we can see.

We will have to wait and see if another solution can be found.

 

[nuneatonmark]

So ATW gets blamed for something the WG wants! I suggest the RMT lobby the WG not ATW then?

 

[DarloRich]

Depart Wrexham 15 minutes earlier and hang around Salop for ten minutes or so,the point is the current service to Birmingham is to be replaced by a service to Cardiff, the vast majority heading South from up here travel to the West Midlands for work.

gee whizz - first world problems right there! 25 minutes extra time! The trains will still run though? Yes?

 

[merlodlliw]

So ATW gets blamed for something the WG wants! I suggest the RMT lobby the WG not ATW then?

The funding for the extra trains on the Cambrian is from Welsh Government,my AM tells me when he had a meeting with the Minister last week, she told him ATW had not mentioned they did not have enough stock to run the service,and had not told her they would have to take a service off the Wrexham line to furnish the extras, its all boiling up now,see below for the link to last Fridays Wrexham weekly leader.
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?PBID=600cfe12-345f-441b-b8fa-71cd32ccf055 stock
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

gee whizz - first world problems right there! 25 minutes extra time! The trains will still run though? Yes?

Depends what you mean, If I worked in Telford and traveled from Wrexham as some do, Id be very miffed.

I am sure some compromise will occur, the story is on Radio Shropshire tomorrow at 0800 and then on Radio Wales later.

 

[DarloRich]

The funding for the extra trains on the Cambrian is from Welsh Government,my AM tells me when he had a meeting with the Minister last week, she told him ATW had not mentioned they did not have enough stock to run the service,and had not told her they would have to take a service off the Wrexham line to furnish the extras, its all boiling up now,see below for the link to last Fridays Wrexham weekly leader.
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?PBID=600cfe12-345f-441b-b8fa-71cd32ccf055 stock
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Depends what you mean, If I worked in Telford and traveled from Wrexham as some do, Id be very miffed.

I am sure some compromise will occur, the story is on Radio Shropshire tomorrow at 0800 and then on Radio Wales later.

But you still have a train, albeit earlier. This could happen to any trian in the country. It isnt being withdrawn, just re timetabled.

 

[berneyarms]

gee whizz - first world problems right there! 25 minutes extra time! The trains will still run though? Yes?

The overall extra time taken is 15 minutes, not 25 (the wait time at Shrewsbury is included in that 15 minutes).

Another train is planned to have extra stops added to maintain the connection, but people are complaining about losing a direct train.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

 

[DarloRich]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

yes - i forgot about the vast conspiracy that afflicts the people of Wrexham. :roll:

The overall extra time taken is 15 minutes, not 25 (the wait time at Shrewsbury is included in that 15 minutes).

Another train is planned to have extra stops added to maintain the connection, but people are complaining about losing a direct train.

So: fight to save trains should read fight to stop people having to change train and spend 15 minutes stood about at Shrewsbury?

Name the other lines in the country where that doesn't also happen? Is the changing of trains beyond the people of North Wales?

I get if you want to go from Wrexham to Birmingham for work then having to change and set off a touch earlier is a pain - but nothing more.

Sorry - this is a story about nothing.

 

[deltic]

This what happens when politicians start playing trains

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

I'm tempted to say North Wales-Birmingham via Crewe/Stafford...
Sending them via Shrewsbury was another ATW compromise to save stock (for Manchester-Cardiff).

 

[Tracky]

It is a problem with political involvement in railways.

I believe ATW should go back to the clock face. Operate a two hourly Holyhead Cardiff service including the fast ones and operate a two hourly Chester Birmingham service with 158s. Having deviated away from the clock face timetable and introduced the Manchester loco hauled set the North Wales timetable is confusing at best.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

Loads, surely? Greenford branch trains, for example, going to West Ealing soon instead of Paddington

 

[causton]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

Does London Bridge count?

 

[merlodlliw]

Name the other lines in the UK where direct trains to where vast majority of people want to go are being taken off to provide direct trains where not many want to go?

No where else in Wales for sure. It works like this from May.

HOWL, better & more services.

Cambrian, more services.

Fishguard line extra services continue.

Chester/Shrewsbury line via Wrexham,Peak services withdrawn.

Heres tomorrows E Edition of the Daily Post, the printed edition will have more comments.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/union-backs-campaign-save-wrexham-8480383

 

[Bevan Price]

yes - i forgot about the vast conspiracy that afflicts the people of Wrexham. :roll:



So: fight to save trains should read fight to stop people having to change train and spend 15 minutes stood about at Shrewsbury?

Name the other lines in the country where that doesn't also happen? Is the changing of trains beyond the people of North Wales?

I get if you want to go from Wrexham to Birmingham for work then having to change and set off a touch earlier is a pain - but nothing more.

Sorry - this is a story about nothing.

Disagee. They have lots of passengers wanting to go to Wolverhampton / Birmingham, and a lot less wanting to go towards Cardiff. So, what do they do ? Penalise the majority and make their journey slower & less convenient. The main beneficiary is likely to be the car industry.

And has anyone considered bus connections to the stations. Moving a train 15 minutes earlier could stop people reaching the station by bus. Many early morning bus services are not exactly "high frequency".

 

[D1009]

Can anyone accurately provide the total number of people adversely affected by this change on an average day?

Probably not, as they and the politicians are the only ones bringing it to our attention on the forum.

 

[berneyarms]

No where else in Wales for sure. It works like this from May.

HOWL, better & more services.

Cambrian, more services.

Fishguard line extra services continue.

Chester/Shrewsbury line via Wrexham,Peak services withdrawn.

Heres tomorrows E Edition of the Daily Post, the printed edition will have more comments.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/union-backs-campaign-save-wrexham-8480383

Should that not read (in the interests of objectivity):

Chester/Shrewsbury line via Wrexham, One return service withdrawn, but additional stops provided on another service.

 

[DarloRich]

Disagee. They have lots of passengers wanting to go to Wolverhampton / Birmingham, and a lot less wanting to go towards Cardiff. So, what do they do ? Penalise the majority and make their journey slower & less convenient. The main beneficiary is likely to be the car industry.

And has anyone considered bus connections to the stations. Moving a train 15 minutes earlier could stop people reaching the station by bus. Many early morning bus services are not exactly "high frequency".

I doubt there are any buses early in the morning. You do what I do and walk to the station.

But Cardiff is in Wales so the WAG will be keen on spending their money within Wales

 

[30907]

The RMT have today sent out this media release,it will appear in the North Wales dailies tomorrow,with supporters comments.

Fascinated by the reference to the GWR.
Shame they didn't say that in the 50s, for example, the early train to Brum left at 7.34am ☺

 

[merlodlliw]

Should that not read (in the interests of objectivity):

Chester/Shrewsbury line via Wrexham, One return service withdrawn, but additional stops provided on another service.

No, in my opinion, it is the axing of a peak train.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Can anyone accurately provide the total number of people adversely affected by this change on an average day?

Probably not, as they and the politicians are the only ones bringing it to our attention on the forum.

The line user Committee have spent many days travelling on the 0747, and spent mornings at Wrexham/Ruabon/Chirk and Gobowen talking to passengers
and handing out campaign sheets to fill in.

The numbers effected are considerable and the information as been passed on to ATW/WG, ATW also had a consultancy riding the train.

The line user committee have very accurate figures.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Fascinated by the reference to the GWR.
Shame they didn't say that in the 50s, for example, the early train to Brum left at 7.34am ☺

It was a direct service to Birmingham then.

 

[Tracky]

My problem with all of this is it is - once again - the fault of the Welsh government and yet Arriva still get the blame for finding a solution to the problem of giving the Welsh government what they want within the constraints of the fleet.

 

[TDK]

So ATW gets blamed for something the WG wants! I suggest the RMT lobby the WG not ATW then?

It wasn't the wag who campaigned for an hourly Aber service is was SCRUA themselves, sorry Bob but you guys want your cake and eat it I am afraid with the RMT once again getting free advertising and recognition for something that isn't really their concern.

 

[Clip]

It wasn't the wag who campaigned for an hourly Aber service is was SCRUA themselves, sorry Bob but you guys want your cake and eat it I am afraid with the RMT once again getting free advertising and recognition for something that isn't really their concern.

Ahh but you are not looking at the long game here - support local rail groups to protect services and the thinking behind it will be that the locals will support any RMT action in the future cunning.

 

[TDK]

Ahh but you are not looking at the long game here - support local rail groups to protect services and the thinking behind it will be that the locals will support any RMT action in the future cunning.

Of course, in my opinion I think the new guy in charge at the RMT are using people including their own members for recognition at any cost, not cunning but selfish and un-necessary I am glad I am not an RMT member that's for sure.