Sardine Express set to continue!
Added 02/07/2009Paul Rowen, MP for Rochdale, has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons questioning the Government’s decision to withhold funding for the Oldham Loop rolling stock. The Rochdale MP believes that this decision will increase the current heavily congested rail services in Rochdale and throughout Greater Manchester.
Now Paul is now spearheading a cross-party campaign to get the Department of Transport to pay up, especially as “…the department has saved eight million pounds a year on subsidies due to the imminent closure of Oldham loop for conversion to Metrolink.” Paul has joined forces with Jim Dobbin MP, Andrew Stunell MP and Brian Iddon MP to table a Parliamentary Motion asking the Department of Transport to “…re-consider funding for Oldham 5 given the impact it will have on commuters from Rochdale, Greenfield, Stalybridge, Ashton, Bolton, Atherton, Stockport and Manchester.”
Paul, who has campaigned for years to relieve the over-crowding on our commuter trains said, “Rail passengers in the north already must endure overcrowded journeys, particularly at the of busiest times, on rolling stock which is often below the standard enjoyed by commuters in the south east. To add insult to injury the headline figure of 1,300 carriages is an absolute commitment, meaning that many train operators outside of the north will receive more than their initial allocation. Why is the North being left out from the economic benefits that rail development undoubtedly brings?”
Northern Rail, who operate the services in Rochdale and Greater Manchester are set to receive just 106 of the 182 carriages previously promised by the Department for Transport. Paul Rowen, the Chair of the All-Party Group who has travelled at the most congested times continued, “What is clear is that as a result of this cut in funding, the North – South divide on train travel will widen and I hope that as a result, Government transport bosses will re-consider and give us the rolling stock that promised! Civil servants indicated just last week at a meeting with GMITA officers that the Northern Rail allocation was now more likely to be 106, and could not give assurances that this would not be revised downwards even further. The reality is that we will miss out on 78 carriages and the inevitable result will be an increase in over-crowding!”
NOTES
1. In tabling the motion Mr Rowen was supported by MPs Jim Dobbin, Andrew Stunnell and Brian Iddon.
2. The Railways Act 2005 places a statutory duty on the Government to set out every five years how much public expenditure it wishes to devote to rail and specify what it wants the railway to deliver, notably in relation to safety, reliability and capacity.
3. The 2007 Rail White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, contained within it a promise to provide 1,300 additional train carriages to help accommodate the passenger growth experienced over the past ten years and which is forecast to continue in the future.
4. GMITA has written to Chris Mole MP, under secretary of State for transport to support the EDM that Mr Rowen has tabled.
5. Rail services in the North have seen record levels of growth in recent years.
The full text of the motion is as follows:
That this House notes that the Department for Transport will not be funding the retention of the Oldham 5 in Greater Manchester; is concerned that the Department expect GMPTE, ITA and Northern Rail to pay the leasing costs for Oldham loop rolling stock; further notes that the department has saved eight million pounds a year on subsidies due to the imminent closure of Oldham loop for conversion to metrolink; acknowledges the lack of progress concerning the ordering of HLOS rolling stock; concludes that the combination of these factors will render it impossible to relieve overcrowding on the most heavily utilised routes in Greater Manchester; urges the Department for Transport to re-consider funding for Oldham 5 given the impact it will have on commuters from Rochdale, Greenfield, Stalybridge, Ashton, Bolton, Atherton, Stockport and Manchester.