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TOPIC: Rail services through PG: New timetable brings no improvements to train frequencies
Government rejects London Assembly call for devolution of suburban rail services
05 Apr 2023 23:27
#6806
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Basil Clarke  Topic Author |
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Government rejects London Assembly call for devolution of suburban rail services
06 Apr 2023 07:08
#6807
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Michael Mor  |
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When will working class people wake up to the damage that Tories are doing to this country?
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Government rejects London Assembly call for devolution of suburban rail services
07 Apr 2023 14:06
#6808
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Karl Brown  |
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Michael Mor floats a question. I believe he casts his net too tightly. Here’s a 13 year old government – notionally so of later years – who have taken aim at a colossal spectrum including but certainly not limited to the BBC, North Londoners, the liberal elite (which I think is pretty anyone not in government / government supporting), Guardian / Guardian readers, Saint Gary Lineker, Remainers, anyone not in step with the British public ie the government, nurses, creative industries, schoolteachers, lawyers, care home staff, the Church of England, the devolved governments of our nation, universities, food-bank users, Albanians, Labour councils, doctors, demonstrators in general and climate change activists in particular, Europe (especially the French, and of course the Albanians), Pakistani men, and the list goes on. I would love to have been able to add the water industry.
On railways specifically, the reported underlying tactic appears to be to agree long term (7 year) franchise contracts with operators to bridge the term of the expected next government. This would make renationalisation in some form a costly compensation-paying exercise rather than being compensation-free when a franchise simply expires. I was taken by a recent report of a colossal rise in bus use / corresponding drop in private car outside London when bus fares were capped / reduced. Who would have thought. Who thinks? |
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Suburban rail services in London: the prospects are grim
26 Apr 2023 19:51
#6834
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Basil Clarke Topic Author |
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There's a version of the Local Democracy Reporter's report on the London Assembly debate
on the Greenwich-based 853 news website
with some additional information and comments, which are relevant also to commuters in Enfield.
The additional wording reads: Westminster currently controls most of the capital’s local services, but many services have faced cutbacks following the pandemic, or will suffer service reductions in the next timetable. The report concludes: Despite the stance of their colleagues at City Hall and Westminster, Conservatives on Greenwich Council have consistently supported calls for Southeastern Metro to be run by TfL. As if the present situation wasn't bad enough, on 18th May LBC reported that "A leaked report from Network Rail shows Brits can expect further train delays and cancellations in the next five years". A pretty bleak outlook for rail travellers then - while the government continues to build new roads, in defiance of its own climate pledges. More enlightened countries are investing in better and cheaper public transport. |
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Rail services through PG: New timetable brings no improvements to train frequencies
09 May 2023 19:01
#6849
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Basil Clarke Topic Author |
No great surprise to learn that the new Great Northern Metro timetable that comes into force on 21st May does not provide any increase in services on the Hertford to Moorgate line via Palmers Green. We remain stuck on half the service level that we enjoyed pre-pandemic. Enfield Dispatch reports that our local representative on the London Assembly, Joanne McCartney (a PG resident), has been asking for more trains but has been rebuffed on the grounds that services have to match the level of demand and are currently running at a loss. But she rightly points out that the conditions are there for a vicious circle: Joanne said she recognises that demand for services is still lower than it was pre-pandemic, but warned: “Part of this is because the government will not fund extra capacity, but there is a danger of a vicious circle – if people think there is a poor service, they won’t use it. By running down rail services - and not just on our line, but across the country - while continuing the road-building programme, the government is doing exactly the opposite of what is required if the UK is to live up to its promises on greenhouse gas reduction. And condemning future generations to intolerable living conditions as global temperatures continue to rise. |
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