Bigger trains for town... and more of them on way
EAST Staffordshire commuters are set to get more trains and extra carriages on their under-fire railway line – including a Sunday boost for Uttoxeter-bound horseracing fans.
From 2021, at least one extra carriage will be added to trains on the Derby-to-Crewe line, which stop at Uttoxeter and Hatton.
Extra early and late services will also be introduced on the East Midlands Trains-run line, which has faced heavy criticism from MPs for slowness and having too few carriages.
Punters at Uttoxeter Racecourse will benefit from a new earlymorning Sunday service. The current service makes it impossible to get to the Wood Lane course, which neighbours the station, in time for Sunday meetings.
The plans were announced in Parliament by Burton and Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths. He said: “The first train to Uttoxeter on a Sunday is at 2.30pm, which means racegoers have already missed at least an hour-and-a-half. That causes the racecourse concern and racegoers great frustration.
“I have been campaigning for some considerable time for improvements in the service. The problems with the single-carriage trains have already been discussed. Clearly, there is no way that service adequately serves the numbers of people that want to come to Uttoxeter.
“When the earliest train to Stoke from Uttoxeter on a Sunday is the 15.03 and to Derby the 14.54, it is simply not sufficient.
“So I am delighted to hear we will have trains running on Sundays to Uttoxeter before racing begins, starting from 2021 – or possibly sooner. Rather than, as we had hoped, modernised signalling facilities, what is being proposed is extra signalling staff to change the signals manually. That is very welcome.
“It will improve the service for residents in Stoke and Derby, too.”
There are about 15 trains per weekday and Saturdays in both directions picking up passengers at the two stations, with just seven on Sundays.
The times of the new services and the number of new carriages is not yet known. But Mr Griffiths’ office says he is set to meet Rail Minister Andrew Jones, to try to get the new services sooner.
Mr Griffiths said: “The guaranteed extra carriage will make a big difference to local train users who often find themselves crammed into the single carriage and unable to sit down.”
Racecourse executive director David MacDonald said: “Andrew Griffiths MP spoke up for Uttoxeter Racecourse and our concerns regarding trains on the floor during a parliamentary debate and he was full of praise for the work we do.
“The earlier Sunday trains will mean customers have the option to arrive by train, which should hopefully attract more people to these fixtures and in turn support both the Racecourse and the town’s economy.”
Mr Jones visited Burton Railway Station, also run by East Midlands Trains, branding it “not an architectural masterpiece” ahead of a long-awaited revamp.
It was announced recently that rail fares would rise by 3.1 per cent early next year, with some Labour members calling for railways to be re-nationalised.
A recent Parliamentary debate at the end of last month saw politicians heavily criticise the route. Tory Newcastle under Lyme MP Paul Farrelly said: “Anyone who has taken the slow, crawling boneshaker of a ride from Stoke to Crewe well knows what I mean.
“It takes up to half-an-hour to travel the 15 miles to Crewe and another 50 minutes or more to traverse the 35 miles to Derby.
“That is an hour and 20 minutes, if you are lucky, to travel 50 miles in this day and age – practically what it takes to get from Stoke-onTrent to London.”
Former Burton parliamentary candidate Ruth Smeeth, now Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said: “The lack of capacity on the Crewe-Derby route is a matter of regular complaints from my constituents.
“The problem is particularly acute at peak times as well as on race days as passengers find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the corridors and vestibules.” An East Midlands Trains spokesman said: “We are fully supportive of the drive to push for improvements on the Crewe-to-Derby line.
“There has been a huge increase in passenger numbers and more carriages are needed for our network to improve capacity and provide a better service.”
The Crewe-to-Derby line is run by East Midlands Trains, whose contract ends in August 2019. It is not yet known which firms are bidding for the new contract.
New rules will also see passengers compensated for any delays longer than 15 minutes.
Ticketing systems will also be improved.