Anger at ‘no stop’ plan for Nuneaton and Rugby
After months of investigation Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council are about to make a final decision whether or not to apply for a Judicial Review of the proposed December 2008 West Coast Main Line timetable at Nuneaton and Rugby.
Cllr Alan Farnell, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The entire consultation process surrounding this timetable has been totally inadequate.
“The focus of the timetable appears to be generating money for Virgin Trains and the Department for Transport (DfT) by giving longer distance passengers faster journeys at the expense of those wishing to use Nuneaton and Rugby stations. I find it very hard to believe that the DfT cannot find five minutes to stop fast trains at Nuneaton and Rugby.”
Leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Marcus Jones, stated: “Since the council became aware of the proposed timetabling changes in the autumn of 2006, it has lobbied extensively against the proposals and used every opportunity to raise our concerns.
“The DfT has shown a complete disregard for rail users in Nuneaton by prioritising stops at Wilmslow over those at Nuneaton. I do not want to pre-empt the decision of our Cabinet which meets on the 23rd July 2008, but having received barrister’s advice there would seem to be very few options open to us.”
The timetable, which will come into force in December this year, will put an end to off-peak Virgin Pendolino services calling at Nuneaton meaning the only high-speed services serving Nuneaton will be morning peak-time services to London and evening peak-time services back again.
At Rugby, there will be no more Pendolino services to the North-West and Scotland and there will only be three trains to London between 7am and 8am.
Cllr Alan Farnell went on to say: “The councils have taken legal advice regarding this matter. Unfortunately, the advice suggests that notwithstanding the unfairness embodied in the current system the DfT’s legal powers are so broad that there is little prospect of a successful judicial challenge.
“The councils are giving the matter one final consideration to see whether any options are still available in respect of this round of changes. However, for the future, the councils will be keeping a very close eye on any future timetable changes and we will be pressing the DfT for a reinstatement of the services as soon as possible.”
The main concerns with the December 2008 timetable are:
The proposal that high speed ‘Pendolino’ trains will not call at Nuneaton during the daytime off-peak;
The proposals at Rugby to cease hourly calls on Pendolino services from Rugby to the North-West of England and to Scotland; and
The proposals at Rugby to reduce the number of 0700-0800 AM peak departures to London from the current four trains to three trains.