Rail users ‘betrayed’ by EMT inter-city peak-time cuts
LOCAL community leaders have slammed the decision to withdraw peak-time inter-city services operated by East Midlands Trains from Bedford and Luton from May 2018, labelling it a “disgraceful betrayal” of rail users.
The timetable change will mean that southbound services between 0700-1000 and trains travelling north from 1600-1900 will no longer stop at the two towns.
EMT Managing Director Jake Kelly said the move was necessary in order to accommodate an increase in Thameslink services between Bedford and London to seven trains per hour at peak times. It was also aimed at protecting journey times from the East Midlands and the North from the subsequent squeeze in capacity on the southern end of the Midland Main Line (MML).
“In order for this [Thameslink Programme] to be successfully introduced by the Department for Transport and Govia Thameslink Railway, we have had to make some changes to our timetable to allow the additional GTR train services to run on the lines we share into London,” he said.
“Overall, our new timetable represents a largely positive story for customers in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. While some trains may have slightly longer journey times than today, the extra capacity provided by the new timetable, coupled with some headline journey improvements, will deliver a significant boost to our customers.”
Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson has led the chorus of disapproval from stakeholders along the
southern portion of the MML, and has started a petition against the cuts. He criticised the lack of any consultation, and said he would be “insisting on a reversal of this shocking loss of services” from Government, Network Rail and EMT.
Bedford Commuters Association has also called on EMT to retain its current service pattern - its services are up to 12 minutes quicker between London and Bedford than the fastest Thameslink trains, which are scheduled to take 45 minutes.
The new timetable is expected to run for at least two years and beyond the scheduled end of the current East Midlands franchise in August 2019. Full details will be available in February 2018.
The timetable change comes against the backdrop of a contentious proposal to permanently remove all inter-city services from all calling points on the MML south of Kettering. This was set out in the public consultation for the new East Midlands franchise that closed on October 11 ( RAIL 838).
Hodgson said this raised the possibility that Government was trying to force through the controversial proposal “under the pretext of temporary timetable adjustments”.
He added: “With no explanation for this sudden change, it looks like an attempt to force through the plans to cut all inter-city services from Bedford permanently by the back door. Either way, coming days after the announcement of yet another inflation-busting fare rise [from January 2018], it’s a disgraceful betrayal of Bedford rail users. I will fight this on their behalf in every way I can.”
A statement from England’s Economic Heartland (which represents local authorities across an area stretching from Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes to Luton, Northamptonshire and Cambridge) said: “We are concerned that changes impacting Luton [and Bedford] have already been made for the May 2018 timetable, in advance of the outcome of the consultation on the East Midlands franchise being known. This seems against the spirit of open and transparent consultation.”
The Department for Transport declined to comment, when asked by