On March 25, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, , attended a drop-in session
in Parliament hosted by Great Western Railway (GWR)
following shocking new figures that exposed the scale of rail
service disruption in Bath.
New data from the Office for Rail and Road shows that over 70
trains were cancelled in just four weeks at the beginning of the
year. These statistics revealed serious problems with
cancellations across the South West, with 1.8% of the 3,902
scheduled services not stopping at Bath Spa station between the
5th of January and 1st of February this year.
This news follows the announcement of the 4.6% rail fare
increase, which means the cost of a monthly season ticket from
Bath Spa to London Paddington – a common journey for commuters in
Bath – has risen to £1249.60.
The Bath MP has condemned these findings as 'unacceptable' and
has demanded that the government take urgent action. She has
consistently pushed in Parliament to improve service performance
in Bath, arguing that residents should not have to pay costly
ticket fares for unreliable services. She has also been a strong
opponent against unjust fare hikes, repeatedly calling for fares
to be frozen, as well as urging for a review of the ticketing
system.
Mrs. Hobhouse insists that passengers must become the priority
and that, after years of failure, the government must work to get
rail back on track. She is calling for the creation of a new
Railway Agency to join up the industry from track to train,
putting commuters first, holding train companies accountable, and
bringing in wide scale reform of the broken fare system.
, Liberal Democrat MP for
Bath, commented:
“Constituents consistently come to me with complaints about
delays, cancellations, and unreliable weekend services. I have
been trying to work with GWR for nearly eight years since
becoming the MP, listening to their explanations for bad service,
unannounced cancellations, and weekend disruption.
“But, things are getting worse, not better. GWR are failing to
improve their reliability, and it is simply unacceptable. This
latest statistic of over 70 trains being cancelled in just a four
week period is terrible.
“Rest assured, I will continue to push both the government and
GWR to rapidly improve rail services for my constituents.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Statistics refer to data collected between January
5th and February 1st this year.
-
Statistics are from the Office for Rail and Road. Please see
notes in source data as needed. Statistics are here.
