Conservative councillors have launched a petition to make sure that Coventry continues to be served by three express trains to London every hour. They’ve launched the campaign because a consultation on the future of the West Coast service rail franchise could put this level of service under threat.
The consultation exercise, being led by the Department for Transport (DFT), runs until 2nd August 2016 and will eventually result in an operator (currently Virgin) being appointed to run the franchise in 2017. The current consultation process will shape the service that the operator is asked to provide by the DFT setting out a service level agreement with the operator.
The consultation document suggests there may be opportunities to adjust the level of service provided at some stations where demand is lower - improving journey times to bigger stations. This could lead to fewer express services stopping at Coventry to improve travel times to Birmingham.
Leading the campaign is Cllr Gary Ridley (Woodlands) and Cllr Ken Taylor (Earlsdon), they’ll be asking travellers to sign the petition at Coventry station on Friday morning. They’ll also be seeking support from all the city’s councillors when the item is debated at a meeting on Tuesday 12th July.
Speaking about the campaign Cllr Gary Ridley said; ‘Coventry is located at the heart of the country and it benefits from great road and rail links to the rest of the country. However, like many people I’m alarmed at the prospect of a reduction in this service. Coventry’s future prospects are heavily dependent on our connections with London and in these uncertain times we need this service more than ever. That’s why we’re collecting this petition which we’ll submit as part of the consultation process.’
Cllr Ken Taylor said; ‘Much of the city’s regeneration around the Friargate initiative is based on good connectivity to London and Birmingham and I’m deeply concerned at any suggestion that the service may be reduced in some way. It’s just a consultation at this stage which is why it’s so important to show the DFT just how much support there for retaining this level of service.’
Conservative Group Leader, Cllr John Blundell, is also backing the campaign and said; ‘It’s really important that we have good rail links with London and Birmingham. With the Coventry City of Culture bid underway we need to be an open and accessible city and that’s why we’ll be asking the council to make strong representations to the DFT on this issue.’
The West Coast Mainline is a key part of the nation’s infrastructure with around 300 train services operating every day with 1.65 billion passenger journeys in a year. It’s estimated that around six million passengers use Coventry station every year.