‘Sardine express’ to be discussed
Saturday 27th June 2009, 11:35AM BST.
A train service between Shropshire and Wales has been branded the “sardine express” by a county MP.
Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for The Wrekin, warned carriages were so congested on the Arriva Train Wales (ATW) service, people could be injured or even killed if the trains were ever involved in a collision or suddenly forced to grind to a halt.
He told the Commons: “My concern is people are being crushed into its carriages because there are often only two carriages, when four are required to meet the demand.
“If there were a sudden halt or accident, far more people would be injured or possibly killed as a result of that congestion.”
Mr Pritchard urged Sadiq Khan, transport minister, to meet with ATW bosses to discuss the problem.
“It has been going on far too long,” he said.
Mr Khan conceded the quality of service passengers receive on some services up and down the country was “not good enough”.
He agreed to arrange a meeting with representatives from the train operator and asked Mr Pritchard to be present during the discussions so he could convey constituents’ concerns.
Mr Pritchard said afterwards: “I am glad the minister has agreed to meet ATW bosses with myself. I only hope that they take action to tackle the problem rather than just talk about it.”
ATW apologised this week after complaints.
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ATW are greedy. Their trains are filthy inside and out.
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Agreed.
Arriva need to sort their trains out and get them looking decent and not smelling of all kinds.
Even the LondonMidland trains are better, and they feel like they are completely made of glass!
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Renationalise the railways now. Privatisation has been hugely costly in every respect.
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James Springer calls for the renationalisation of the railways. Because of Arriva Trains Wales? Has he not considered the excellent service given around the rest of the network, particularly following the investment in schemes such as the West Coast Main Line? Arriva Trains Wales offer a dreadful service to Salopians. Let’s get them sacked and replaced!
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