Backlash as train service shunted into the sidings
THOUSANDS SIGN PETITION AGAINST GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR STATION
PLANS to suspend a ‘vital’ rail service for three months have met with an angry backlash.
Northern Trains has announced it will withdraw services from Rose Hill station – in Marple – and Manchester Piccadilly between early September and mid-December.
Used by thousands of passengers every week, the service also stops at Romiley and Woodley, in Stockport, as well as Hyde Central in Tameside.
Rail-users will now have to use either Marple or Bredbury stations, depending on which is closest for them.
Bosses say the ‘tough decision’ has been taken due to the continuing impact of Covid-19, with many staff classed as vulnerable and a training backlog affecting the number of drivers available.
The rail firm, which was brought under government control in March after years of disruption, says it will be ‘some time’ before services return to pre-Covid levels.
But the announcement has sparked fury among passengers, with thousands signing petitions against the decision within days of it coming to light.
Craig Wright, founder of Friends of Rose Hill Station, said the plan was ‘totally unacceptable.’
He said: “It is just not possible to close down a railway line for three months without destroying its passenger base.
“I helped found the Friends of Rose Hill Station in 2009. Since then we have spent thousands of hours improving the appearance of the station. But we’ve also campaigned and achieved improvements to the train service. The result has been that usage of the whole line has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
“We want
Hazel Grove MP William Wragg to do more but this three-month closure will destroy much of our 10 years’ hard work.” Stockport’s Liberal Democrat group’s petition had attracted more than 3,000 signatures. Deputy leader Coun Lisa Smart said: “This decision by government-run Northern Trains has come out of the blue and will leave many people with no decent alternative to travel to work or school. It has been made after the Conservative government took over running Northern Rail following years of poor service.
“The Conservative government has achieved what few people thought possible. They have managed to do an even worse job of running the railway than Northern. Following the nationalisation of Northern Rail, we are calling on the Conservative government to see sense and reverse it.”
William Wragg – Conservative MP for Hazel Grove – has also launched a petition against the move and is understood to have raised the issue with the Department for Transport.
While acknowledging the impact of coronavirus, Mr Wragg says suspending the service would put additional pressure on a single route, potentially making it harder for people to maintain social distancing.
He said: “This proposal is unacceptable at a time when we will see an increase in passengers using the line, as some workers return to work and people begin to venture back into the city for leisure. I will do everything I can to apply pressure to keep train services on this vital line.”
Coun David Meller, Stockport council’s representative on the Transport for Greater Manchester, said he would work with Mr Wragg in a bid to resolve the matter.