In a new deal with the government, FirstGroup has extended its contract to run train services on the Great Western rail network until 2019. Operating as First Great Western (FGW), they will pay the government some £68m to operate the franchise from September 2015 until April 2019.
The GWR franchise award comes with promises of new trains and more seats on main lines and completion of the electrification programme. But there has been no resolution for through trains on the Bedwyn-Newbury-Reading-Paddington route after the electrification stops at Newbury.
Dr Sam Page of Transition Marlborough says of the decision by the Department for Transport: “This is disastrous for people commuting to Reading and London.”
A statement from FGW to the Bedwyn Trains Passenger Group spells out the definite downside for passengers travelling from Bedwyn station – especially those travelling east to jobs in Newbury, Reading and London. It reads:
“As you know from our discussions there is no immediate solution to the loss of through services on the Bedwyn to Newbury corridor given electrification is not being extended. This means in May 2017 Bedwyn to London services will be replaced by Newbury to London electric trains and Bedwyn to Newbury [by] diesel shuttles.
“However, within the franchise we have committed to maintain at least one through peak service in each direction. Bedwyn, Kintbury and Hungerford will not therefore lose all their direct trains.”
“We were also able to suggest a feasibility study into the use of Independently Powered electric trains over the route between Paddington and Bedwyn. The DfT have accepted that approach and have asked us to work up plans that would mean through services to Bedwyn, Kintbury and Hungerford could be re-established at levels similar to today by December 2018.”
“We cannot guarantee the outcome of the study, but we think this is a practical option and will be doing our best to make it work. I will keep you updated.”
In plain terms this means that from May 2017 there will only be diesel shuttles from Bedwyn to Newbury (except for one through service in each direction at a ‘peak time’.) At Newbury passengers will have to try and find seats on fast trains from the West Country.
Steve Smith of the Bedwyn Trains Passengers Group says he is “bitterly disappointed”. The Group have been campaigning to prevent this downgrading of the rail service from Bedwyn for five and half years.
Mr Smith says he has ‘campaign burnout’, is standing down as leader of the campaign and wants the Group to finds a ‘big hitter’ to continue the campaign: “Claire Perry and Richard Benyon (who have both been campaigning vigorously on this issue) have been unable to crack the problem.”
Since she became a minister at the Department for Transport, Claire Perry MP has had a conflict of interest on the Bedwyn rail link issue. Baroness Kramer, who is Minister of State for Transport sitting in the House of Lords, has been handling the issue.
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