Updated 24th August 2010
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Appeal to The Secretary of State for Transport
On the 4th July we wrote the following letter to the Secretary of State appealing to him to improve our train services by amending the wording of the Arriva CrossCountry contract. A simple alteration that should cost nothing.
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To: The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP. Secretary of State for Transport
BT4C Campaign for Arriva CrossCountry Nottingham/Cardiff Trains
to Stop and Serve Chepstow.
This snapshot of the A48 shows traffic congestion through Chepstow and an Arriva CrossCountry Ltd train
creeping through the town without stopping an event repeated every hour of the day.
The train doesn’t creep because it feels guilty and wishes to avoid attention (as well it might) but does so because the track bends sharply each side of the town and all trains have to slow down for safety reasons. It would take just one minute to stop and start the train at Chepstow and less than a minute for people to get on and off.
Since 2004 the Better Trains for Chepstow team has received strengthening support from the community for these trains to stop and serve Chepstow, the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. We tried to persuade Arriva CrossCountry to stop at Chepstow but because this was not stipulated in the contract drafted by the Department for Transport (DfT) AXC refused to cooperate.
The trains could stop at Chepstow without altering the times at Newport or Gloucester by simply cutting recovery times in this 45 mile section from 6 minutes to 4 minutes. Stopping these trains is not a new or revolutionary idea: many people in the town remember when Chepstow had through services to Birmingham and they yearn to have them back. We believe that Chepstow and the attractions of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean present an opportunity to increase off-peak business on this Cross Country route for the benefit of the community and to the Train Operating Companies (TOC’s).
Stopping AXC trains at Chepstow would fulfil a Welsh Assembly objective in the Wales Spatial Plan that identifies a need for a high speed transport link between Cardiff and Chepstow, a key settlement in the Capital Region. The extra service would also help alleviate traffic congestion on the busy M4 between Newport and Cardiff.
When we first promoted the idea we thought it was so obvious we expected the DfT and the Train Operating Companies to grasp the opportunity for extra business and to want to provide the service. It took until 2009 for us to get Lord Adonis the former Transport Secretary to agree that there was nothing to prevent the trains serving Chepstow but he remained unwilling to do anything about it! The change need not cost anything and could be quickly implemented.
We appeal to you to take a fresh look at the suggestion which involves re-wording the service level commitment in the AXC franchise contract to mandate that all AXC trains stop at Chepstow. The change whilst obtaining a better return for our subsidised trains and infrastructure will greatly improve rail services to the public and benefit the local economy, especially our local tourist industry.
Yours sincerely, Jim Jenkins,
Chair, Better Trains for Chepstow Team.
Note: Since AXC took over this franchise no less than 18,000 AXC trains have passed through Chepstow without stopping. These trains regularly carry less than 30 passengers yet have the capacity to seat about 200. The trains and the railway infrastructure that are all heavily subsidised could for the same cost provide our community with a valuable service helping people get to work and bringing extra business to the area.
Illogically the DfT franchise contract penalises AXC for increasing its revenue and compensates them with taxpayer’s money if revenue is low. Figures published in “The Times” earlier this year showed a fall in AXC revenue from which we calculated they were on target for a handout from the taxpayer of £26M by the end of 2010!
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The Chepstow Great Train Robbery.
How Chepstow has been robbed of its train services.
Lost in the Last Few Years.
During the last few years train services to Chepstow, S.E. Monmouthshire, the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean have worsened with the appointment of each new train operator.
- In 2003 we lost the hourly train service to Cardiff when Arriva Trains Wales took over the Cardiff to Gloucester local service.
- Then in 2006 train connections at Severn Tunnel to Bristol were severed when the DfT removed the need for First Great Western to stop the Cardiff/Portsmouth trains at Severn Tunnel Junction. This effectively cut off train travel between Chepstow and Bristol.
- In 2007 the DfT failed to specify that Arriva Cross Country should stop and serve Chepstow with its hourly service and these trains continue through the town without stopping. 18,000 trains that could have served Chepstow have instead spent their spare time waiting at signals or standing in Gloucester station.
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Worse Trains for Chepstow.
Arriva Trains Wales cut train services affecting Chepstow, Lydney and Caldicot from Monday 14th December 2009.
BT4C wrote to the Transport Minister and the Deputy First Minister WAG proposing that the alterations should be postponed until better arrangements could be made.
The cuts took place but WAG have assured us that they are having discussions with the DfT in order to identify options to improve services.
Click "Worse Trains for Chepstow" to see the text of our protest.
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Live National Rail Enquiries
http://realtime.nationalrail.co.uk/ldb/summary.aspx?T=CPW
Knowing how long you may have to wait for the next train is always a puzzle at Chepstow.
If you are lucky it may be an hour but it might be two hours.
Click the link above and try your luck!
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In 2009 Lord Andrew ADONIS, Minister of State for Transport admitted that turn around time at Cardiff does not prevent Arriva CrossCountry serving Chepstow.
For years "insufficient time" was the main excuse for not serving Chepstow with Cross Country trains.
We have to thank our MP, Mr David Davies, for his continued and persistent support that eventually led to the admission that there was sufficient time. Regretably he remained unwilling to renegotiate the contract.
We hope that the Coalition Government will take a more enlightened view and that is why we have now written to Philip Hammond MP..
Click "Why Arriva CrossCountry could call at Chepstow" to see a detailed explanation.
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Good News.
News Release. 21/10/2009
Community group praises most regular train service ever.
A community group has praised the efforts of train operator, First Great Western, for providing the most regular service they have ever had at Severn Tunnel Junction station.
Severn Tunnel Action Group (STAG) says an extra stop at the station, which will be introduced in December, means they will have a half-hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Tunnel Junction from the evening peak and throughout the evening for the first time ever.
Since the First Great Western franchise began in April 2006, company officials have worked closely with STAG members to implement almost 20 additional stops to date. The 6.22pm Portsmouth to Cardiff service will now call at the station at 9.16pm.
STAG Treasurer, Alan Vickers, said: "We really feel this is something we should shout from the rooftops about. First Great Western has always been very helpful in re-instating train stops at Severn Tunnel Junction. Never before have we had a level of service that we will have from the December 2009 timetable change. We are so grateful to First Great Western for their continued support."
First Great Western's Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said: "First Great Western works closely with the community to provide the best possible service to customers throughout our network. We hope that the half-hourly stops at Severn Tunnel Junction will encourage more people to choose to travel by train."
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Review of the Better Trains for Chepstow Campaign. January 2010.
Our three primary aims remain the same.
1.The Arriva TW train service frequency should be upgraded to hourly.
This improvement is the one that will have the greatest impact. It will improve services and connections for all current and potential passengers using all the stations between Newport and Cheltenham. We believe that attaining a basic hourly service will have the added advantage of making objectives 2 & 3 more attractive to FGW and AXC.
One extra train unit is needed to fill in the service gaps. The current cost of leasing a train unit from a Rolling Stock Company (ROSCO) may be as much as £500,000 a year! A more economic solution could be to identify a spare unit within the existing ATW fleet or to re-allocate under utilized units within the fleet to make one available to serve the Chepstow line.
The Sewta Draft Regional Transport Plan, July 2008 proposed to upgrade the Arriva TW Chepstow line service to hourly in 2010 and half hourly in 2014. These improvements await authorization by WAG.
2. Arriva CrossCountry should stop their trains at Chepstow instead of slowly passing through the town.
This is the improvement that will cost the least and could be implemented most rapidly.
We think it is time for the Government, WAG and Monmouthshire County Council to accept that there is no reason why these trains should not serve Chepstow and to call upon the DfT to amend the contract. (AXC have demonstrated that they will not serve Chepstow beyond the minimum specified by the DfT.)
The cost to AXC for stopping the trains that often pass through with no more than 20-30 passengers will be minimal but the value to the community, businesses and the local environment will be incalculable. It is a scandal that since AXC took over this franchise they have passed through Chepstow 18,000 times without stopping.
Serving Chepstow with this service would fulfill, at practically no cost, one of transport requirements set out in the Wales Spacial Plan. Chepstow a key settlement in the Capital Region should, according to the plan, have access to the capital with a high speed transport link.
3. FGW should reinstate Cardiff / Portsmouth train stops at Severn Tunnel Junction and reconnect the Chepstow line services with Bristol.
As reported above FGW have already restored many of the services that were removed by the DfT when the franchise was renewed in 2005. The action by FGW is commendable and hopefully their co-operation will continue but the DfT should be prevailed upon to amend the contract and make these important connections secure for the future.
Passenger Surveys at Chepstow have consistently shown that as few as 5 people a day now attempt to travel by train between Chepstow and Bristol because the present service is so bad. Chepstow Chamber of Commerce and Tourism were appalled by this revelation.
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A Lost Opportunity.
Newport Area Resignalling.
Track Alterations at
Severn Tunnel Junction. December 2009.
The Newport Area Resignalling Scheme (NARS) will bring improvements at Severn Tunnel Junction, most importantly the reinstatement of platform 4. However it is hard to understand why the redundant Bishton Flyover nearly halfway between Newport and Severn Tunnel Junction was not removed by Network Rail as this could have brought much greater long term benefits.
The removal of the flyover, as the attached sketches show, would allow the main and relief lines to remain continuous and parallel throughout the 10 miles between Newport and Severn Tunnel and increase the speed and capacity of the four running lines. This parallel running, cutting out the criss-crossing of routes and the sharing of paths at Severn Tunnel Junction, would have enabled line speeds to be increased, improved timetabling and reliability of services through this important point of entry to Wales.
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A Lost Opportunity.
Network Rail’s recently published Wales Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for Wales also appears to have overlooked the possible advantages arising from the removal of Bishton Flyover structure. I was unable to find any reference to it.
Click here for list of advantages for removing Bishton flyover and re-designating the running lines as proposed.
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BT4C Paper on Sustainable Tourism.
BT4C proposed that stopping AXC trains at Chepstow would greatly benefit business and tourism in the Wye Valley and was a measure that could quickly and cheaply promote sustainable tourism.
Click "BT4C Sustainable Tourism and Transport Response" |
BT4C's response to Wales National Transport Plan consultation. 5th October 2009.
BT4C expressed disappointment that the plan contained no proposals for upgrading the frequency of services on the Chepstow line or for making better use of the under utilised track and trains. |
Sewta Draft Regional Transport Plan July 2008.
Contained a proposal to upgrade the Arriva TW Chepstow Line service to hourly in 2010 and to half hourly in 2014 that BT4C supported.
It was hoped that these improvements would be endorsed and authorised by WAG but it is now more than a year since the Draft Regional Transport Plan was produced in July 2008 but the National Transport Plan (NTP) published in July 2009 made no reference to the service improvement.
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To see our response please click. "BT4C Response to Sewta RTP" |
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Come and visit Chepstow by train.
This picture was taken on the 23rd October 2009 from the Eagles Nest on the Wye Valley Walk just north of Chepstow.
This viewpoint popular with tourists to the Wye Valley since the 18th century has recently been re-opened by Monmouthshire County Council.
Join our BT4C campaign to improve our services and make the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean more accessible to those who wish to explore the area without motor vehicles. |
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