The following is the resume of recent correspondence about the plans to reduce the service to passengers traveling between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.
First the letter which Shrug, acting on behalf of SMART sent to all the Members of Parliament with constituencies bordering on the line:-
SHRUG
The Stalybridge to Huddersfield Rail Users Group
E-mail: Shrug2011@gmail.com
Letter to members of parliament with constituencies on the Huddersfield to Stalybridge rail line
25th September 2011
Jason McCartney M.P.Upperbridge House,24 Huddersfield Road,Holmfirth,HD9 2JS
Dear Mr McCartney,
SHRUG is an umbrella organisation comprising theColneValleyrail user group (SMART) together with the Friends of Mossley Station and the Friends of Greenfield Station.
We have been informed that as part of the proposal to run 6 trains an hour between Manchester and Leeds, 4 fast and 2 semi fast, which is contained in the Rail Utilisation Strategy post 2014, the slow train connections along the route will no longer operate.
We understand that the current proposal being drawn up by planners in the department for Transport, is that instead of the regular hourly service, which stops at all the towns and villages on the route between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, (with certain limited exceptions), there would be an hourly service with one service stopping alternatively, at Slaithwaite and Marsden and the other at Mossley and Greenfield.
We understand that this new service would normally operate through out the day, and revert to current practice during the evenings and on Saturdays and Sundays.
Obviously, the immediate impact of this reduction in service would be the loss of the essential train connection between the towns and villages on the route.
Given the geographical nature of the rail route through the southPennines, the inter village and town connections are vital and much used.
Unfortunately, because of the poor record by train operating companies in selling tickets to passengers travelling on the route, evidence of use is inaccurate, particularly on the inter- town/village services. Neither Marsden nor Slaithwaite has any provision for buying tickets except on the train.
As part of this campaign to save our local rail services under the proposed new franchises, we would urge you to support us. As rail user groups, we are asking politicians and planners to work to provide a more frequent stopping train service betweenManchesterandHuddersfieldto accommodate the needs of both local commuters and social traffic. Our long term aim is to have a half-hourly service between the two and we are looking for the full implementation of the Northern Hub which should greatly enhance this quest.
The oft mooted opening of the second Diggle tunnel would be a considerable step forward; it would give greater much needed capacity on the line.
If the current proposals are adopted our service will be diminished, considerably increasing the problems encountered by the hundreds of people who travel to work everyday in Huddersfield,Sheffield, Manchesterand Leedsfrom the stations on our route.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony C Bowers
Chair of the SHRUG GROUP
Letters have also gone to:-Barry Sheerman M.P. Debbie Abrahams M.P. Jonathan Reynolds M.P. David Heyes M.P.
Secondly the comments made by Paul Salveson, a train consultant living in Golcar, and member of the Labour Party :-
Colne Valley Labour Party
To the Editor, September 28th 2011
‘No plan to cut trains’? Oh yes there is
Colne Valley Constituency Labour Party has attacked claims by local MP Jason McCartney that there are no plans to cut local train services in the ColneValley(The Examiner ‘No plan to cut trains’ September 29th)
Rail expert and vice-chair of Colne Valley Labour Party, Professor Paul Salveson, says there are very good reasons to be concerned about the future of local rail services in the Valley. “The Colne Valley Labour Party has reliable information that suggests there are well-developed plans to cut the stopping service and replace this with a dog’s breakfast of a service involving TransPennine trains calling at local stations on a ‘skip-stop’ pattern,” says Paul. “ Slaithwaite, for example, will get one train an hour but this will not stop at Marsden,Greenfieldor Mossley; it will most likely go to Piccadilly, not Victoria, inManchester. The same goes for Marsden; it may well have a different train stopping there and miss out other stations”.
Tabatha Ellam, Labour spokesperson for Colne Valley Ward which includes Slaithwaite and Marsden, shares Paul’s concerns. “The benefits of a regular interval, hourly stopping train service, connecting communities on either side of the Pennines, will be lost. Furthermore, people who commute from theColne Valley into Manchester by train will find they are most likely to be sent to Piccadilly, rather than the more central Victoria. They won’t be able to get to Ashton-under-Lyne, because the trains will take a different route. It’s also a disaster for the growing number of tourists, ‘rail ale trail’ punters and walkers who use the local train service to get from station to station”.
Prof. Salveson suggests there are other options. “Why is this happening? We’re told that the route between Huddersfield and Manchester‘ needs’ six fast trains an hour. We don’t think it does. But if that is so, Network Rail should invest in extra capacity to provide the necessary infrastructure which allows the extra trains; this should include electrification and re-opening the disused Standedge Tunnels. A better solution in the short term would be strengthen trains from the current two or three coach formations to four and six. The stopping service from Manchester Victoriato Huddersfield is a busy, well-used service and communities are not going to see their transport sacrificed in the interest of Network Rail or the Department for Transport getting enhancements on the cheap. If anything, the route needs an extra stopping service to provide a half-hourly service connecting Pennine communities with Huddersfield and Manchester”.
The Labour Party has highlighted two further issues. The line carries a significant amount of freight which may also be forced off the route; and the plans to operate ‘open access’ trains to from Huddersfield to London by Alliance Rail will be put in jeopardy.
Prof. Salveson wants a co-ordinated response to the challenge. “This should not be a party political issue and we can only imagine that Jason McCartney has been mis-informed. There is a real threat to our local train service and we call on local Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens to work with ourselves and community organisations such as SMART (Slaithwaite and Marsden Action for Rail Transport) and SHRUG (Stalybridge to Huddersfield Rail Users’ Group) to stop these plans going any further. Let’s talk to Metro and their counter-parts in Greater Manchester and get a better solution.”
Ends
Note to editors:
Paul is a visiting professor in Transport and Logistics at theUniversityofHuddersfield, and vice-chair of Colne Valley Constituency Labour Party. He is local election candidate for Labour in Golcar Ward for the May 2012 elections.
Further information: Paul Salveson 07795 008691
And finally, a response from Jason McCartney MP for the Colne Valley , responded, allegedly by Facebook:
As Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Rail in the North I’ve been in touch with Northern Rail to clarify the reality of the situation. The media reports are misleading.
Firstly let me clearly say train services from Marsden and Slaithwaite will continue.
There will be a timetable change in 2016, not before. This is to coincide with electrification in theNorth West and the Ordsall Chord. The current Department for Transport plan for the timetable plan includes one fast train betweenLeeds andManchester stopping atHuddersfield, Dewsbury, Marsden and Slaithwaite. As more funding comes through for the Northern Hub project it’s likely there could be more interregional and stopping services on the line. I am very hopeful of faster, more frequent services for us all.
There is also some more very good news about our rail services being announced at the end of the week.
So in summary Marsden will continue to have a station which I’m very hopeful of having faster and even more frequent services. I didn’t become your MP to see rail services being cut and as Vice Chairman of the Rail in the North group I’m in a position to be at the table with the decision makers.
I hope this reassures you.
Jason McCartney.September 27th 2011