Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Train Service Cuts - Petition To The PM

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Here is a Gloucestershire Echo article on this (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=18814207&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

And also one from the Tewkesbury Admag (link below.)
http://www.tewkesburyadmag.co.uk/news/tanewslatest/display.var.1793266.0.signatures_needed_to_support_petition.php

Letter to the Gloucestershire Echo :

Madam,
 
I urge Echo readers to support Lee Fletcher's 10 Downing Street on line petition calling for the Prime Minister to stop Arriva from reducing its direct rail links between Ashchurch and Birmingham (Echo 30 October).
 
If we let Arriva get away with this, railway passengers will be forced to take the train from Ashchurch to Cheltenham Spa and then catch another train from Cheltenham Spa to Birmingham going past Ashchurch. This is ludicrous at a time when we should be promoting rail travel due to its environmental benefits.
 
The petition web site can be found on http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ashchurchtrains/
 
Yours faithfully
 
Alistair Cameron
Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Tewkesbury

I Hate FGW^▸ (First Great Western) link.
http://ihatefirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2007/10/save-ashchurch-train-services.html

[martyjon]

Not much joy for the passengers hoping to travel to / from Ashchurch today. This is the third consecutive weekend such decimation of the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service from this station has been inflicted of those luckless passengers.

Service page copy, pasted and edited from FGW website at 1750 on said date.


Service incidents

14:38 Taunton to Great Malvern due 17:35
This train will be terminated at Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

15:45 Great Malvern to Taunton due 19:15
This train will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.This is due to a delay on a previous journey.

16:38 Taunton to Great Malvern due 19:40
This train will be terminated at Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

17:50 Great Malvern to Taunton due 21:29
This train will be started from Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury and Cheltenham Spa.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

19:38 Taunton to Cheltenham Spa due 21:50
This train will be started from Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Taunton, Bridgwater, Highbridge & Burnham, Weston-Super-Mare, Worle, Yatton, Nailsea & Backwell, Bristol Temple Meads, Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol Parkway, Yate and Cam & Dursley.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Alteration: 20:13 from Great Malvern.
This train will be started from Bristol Temple Meads.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.
Replacement road transport has been arranged: A 20 seat vehicle between Great Malvern and Bristol Temple Meads and an 8 seat vehicle from Ashchurch to Cam & Dursley, Yate and Bristol Temple Meads.

[Timmer]

'West' local services have taken quite a hit today with crew issues appearing to be the main reason.

[Jim]

EIGHT! Thats stupid!

[devon_metro]

Most of them based around Gloucester depot by the looks of it.

[Timmer]

Most of them based around Gloucester depot by the looks of it.

And Westbury with a number of Weymouth services terminating there instead of completing their journey.

[Lee]

More FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Ashchurch cancellations today (12/11/2007) :

10:36 Worcester Shrub Hill to Taunton due 13:07
This train will be terminated at Bristol Temple Meads.It will no longer call at: Worcester Shrub Hill, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Cheltenham Spa, Nailsea & Backwell, Yatton, Worle, Weston-Super-Mare, Highbridge & Burnham, Bridgwater and Taunton.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Replacement road transport has been arranged from Worcester Shrub Hill to Cheltenham Spa.

10:38 Taunton to Great Malvern due 13:39
This train will be terminated at Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Replacement road transport has been arranged from Cheltenham Spa to Great Malvern.

14:09 Great Malvern to Taunton due 17:29
This train will be started from Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury and Cheltenham Spa.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Replacement road transport has been arranged from Great Malvern to Cheltenham Spa.

[Jim]

Problem is only Gloucester crew sign Malvern I belive

[Lee]

Even more Ashchurch cancellations (13/11/2007) :

08:38 Taunton to Great Malvern due 11:36
This train will be terminated at Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Replacement road transport has been arranged from Gloucester to Great Malvern.

12:36 Worcester Shrub Hill to Taunton due 15:12
This train will be started from Bristol Temple Meads.It will no longer call at: Worcester Shrub Hill, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester, Cam & Dursley, Yate, Bristol Parkway and Filton Abbey Wood.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Replacement road transport has been arranged from Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester.

[Lee]

29/11/2007 :

16:38 Taunton to Great Malvern due 19:32
This train will be terminated at Gloucester.It will no longer call at: Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

20:13 Great Malvern to Bristol Temple Meads due 22:04
This train has been cancelled.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

[Lee]

A response to the petition has been received (link below.)
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14083.asp

The Department for Transport consulted widely on the CrossCountry franchise back in the summer of 2006. Responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders and these were used in designing the specification for the CrossCountry franchise that would operate from November 2007. The specification strikes a balance between the stakeholder responses, operational effectiveness, passenger and commercial demand.

As a result of a competitive tendering exercise Arriva were awarded the franchise in the summer of 2007. The contract that was agreed with Arriva included a base/ minimum specification for the services that they operate to and from Ashchurch for Tewkesbury. First Great Western also serves the station.

Arriva recently carried out a consultation exercise on the timetable that will operate from December 2008 on the route to Birmingham. A broad range of responses to this consultation has been received. A copy of the E petition has been forwarded to Arriva and we have asked that they consider the points that have been raised along with other response to the timetable consultation. Using the feedback received, Arriva will now finalise the timetable in order to make the best use of its resources.