I've been shocked and disappointed by the new transport minister's latest announcement on the hourly service to Aberystwyth.After a horrendously long wait, recent comments by Edwina Hart suggest it will be pushed back even further! Alun Williams has covered the issue very well on his blog http://www.bronglais.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/setback-to-cambrian-line-hourly-service.html ; here's a (bad translation) copy of the email I've sent to Edwina Hart. Maybe, just maybe, if she receives enough correspondence she might change her mind; we can but hope!
Dear Edwina Hart AM
I am writing to ask you to reconsider your shameful and damaging comments regarding the request for an hourly train services to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian Railways.
Many residents in my ward use / rely on train services from Aberystwyth to the east and to the rest of Wales. The services are vital to the area and passenger business (both ways), leisure travelers (including tourists), and university students among others. The importance of the services is obvious in the significant growth in the number of passengers on the Cambrian Railways over the last decade. For example, the numbers who travel from Aberystwyth has grown from 241,000 in 2004/5 to 326,000 in 2011/12. The trains are well used and sometimes they are exceedingly overcrowded: while I was on a service from Wolverhampton to Aberystwyth couple of weeks ago, people were still standing in the train f the whole journey! And the journey from Birmingham to Aberystwyth area is about three hours long! The train in question was exceptionally short, admittedly, but it shows that there is a huge demand for rail services on this line. And the trains are often full.
It is quite obvious that an area so dependent on rail service for contact with everywhere outside the immediate area deserves hourly, considering how full the trains are. It is also apparent that an increase in the number of trains will promote economic development. With hourly serics, it will be more possible for businesses to communicate with remote areas, and there will be more jobs in the area as a result – jobs that are sorely needed.
In my opinion, any further delay in introducing an hourly train service to Aberystwyth will be disappointing to Aberystwyth residents and damaging to the local economy. Bearing that in mind, I urge you to reconsider your views and actions about an hourly rail service from Aberystwyth on the Cambrian Railways to the east.
My constituents have waited for the hourly service for over a decade and a half, and the announcement which came several days ago has raised concerns and destroyed hopes in the area. Aberystwyth residents deserve better.
I hope you change your mind about this important issue.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Jeff Smith, Aberystwyth Town Council, North Ward
Dear Edwina Hart AM
I am writing to ask you to reconsider your shameful and damaging comments regarding the request for an hourly train services to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian Railways.
Many residents in my ward use / rely on train services from Aberystwyth to the east and to the rest of Wales. The services are vital to the area and passenger business (both ways), leisure travelers (including tourists), and university students among others. The importance of the services is obvious in the significant growth in the number of passengers on the Cambrian Railways over the last decade. For example, the numbers who travel from Aberystwyth has grown from 241,000 in 2004/5 to 326,000 in 2011/12. The trains are well used and sometimes they are exceedingly overcrowded: while I was on a service from Wolverhampton to Aberystwyth couple of weeks ago, people were still standing in the train f the whole journey! And the journey from Birmingham to Aberystwyth area is about three hours long! The train in question was exceptionally short, admittedly, but it shows that there is a huge demand for rail services on this line. And the trains are often full.
It is quite obvious that an area so dependent on rail service for contact with everywhere outside the immediate area deserves hourly, considering how full the trains are. It is also apparent that an increase in the number of trains will promote economic development. With hourly serics, it will be more possible for businesses to communicate with remote areas, and there will be more jobs in the area as a result – jobs that are sorely needed.
In my opinion, any further delay in introducing an hourly train service to Aberystwyth will be disappointing to Aberystwyth residents and damaging to the local economy. Bearing that in mind, I urge you to reconsider your views and actions about an hourly rail service from Aberystwyth on the Cambrian Railways to the east.
My constituents have waited for the hourly service for over a decade and a half, and the announcement which came several days ago has raised concerns and destroyed hopes in the area. Aberystwyth residents deserve better.
I hope you change your mind about this important issue.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Jeff Smith, Aberystwyth Town Council, North Ward
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