Letter: Arriva trains overcrowding must end
Wednesday 1st September 2010, 6:00AM BST.
Letter: I am deeply concerned about the Arriva Trains Wales Service operating through Telford to and from Birmingham New Street and into Wales.
My concern surrounds the overcrowding and discomfort of passengers on the 16:24 service on Thursday, August 26.
Problems were caused after the train company marked pre-booked seats in one carriage for passengers boarding at Birmingham New Street.
Whilst pre-booking of seats is an economical and efficient way of filling seats and generating income it does not take into consideration the commuters who use the service.
I was disgusted to see a family of five get on the train at Smethwick Galton Bridge and have to stand all the way to Telford because there was no room to sit. The family included a five-week-old baby.
This family were not the only people unable to relax on their journey and, from various conversations over the past couple of years with the regular commuters who use Arriva Trains Wales, this situation is not uncommon.
Why can this firm not take into consideration, and make alternative arrangements when they are aware that because of pre-booked tickets there is going to be overcrowding on their service, and provide extra rolling stock to accommodate the increased capacity?
Both Telford MP David Wright and MP for the Wrekin, Mark Pritchard, have made their concerns known.
The message to Arriva Trains Wales is, you have run this franchise for a long time now and you are very aware of the passenger numbers of the services you operate.
Show your professionalism to your commuters as many of your regular and occasional travellers are deeply concerned and unhappy about the way you operate.
John N McIntear
Telford
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Easy one to answer:
1- Arriva have no spare trains
2- The UK has no spare trains
3- Eurpoean trains are too big to use in the UK
4- The UK is currrently bankrupt so no new roads or trains for minimum 5 years
5- Get a job nearer to home (or live nearer to work) and help save the planet and save yourself the stress of overcrowded trains.
6- Go to Japan to see how they do commuting by train, they fit way more people onto their trains than we do for the same size train, its amazing to watch them boarding.
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Don’t be so arrogant – most of us have to stick to the job and home we have because
1. Jobs are hard to get – haven’t you noticed there’s a recession!
2. Houses are hard to sell – ditto
3. Many of us also care for family members living nearby so moving is not an option.
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The situation on Sundays would be helped if London Midland ran any trains on Sundays. Which they don’t.
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Since when? I travelled back from London on Sunday 22 August, and they were definitely running then
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Since a long time. London Midland operate NO trains on Sundays on the Shrewsbury to Birmingham line.
Without Arriva Trains Wales we would have no Sunday service between Shrewsbury and Birmingham.
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No, London Midland do not run any trains on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line on Sundays. You must have been on an Arriva train.
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Matt is referring to the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line. Sunday services are provided by Arriva.
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I was on train from Telford to Birmingham new St in July last year. The train was seriously over crowded forcing people to squeeze into the space between first class (empty) and economy. The woman to my side fainted and was carried to the first class carriage to recover. When she came round she was asked to leave first class as she had no ticket! This caused a peasant’s revolt and we all took a seat in first class! they couldn’t arrest 30 of us!
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There are no first class sections on any Arriva or London Midland services which run through to Birmingham from Telford?
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London Midland run a 1st class service
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Not in Shropshire they don’t!
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Tom was probably on a Wrexham and Shropshire which clearly has First Class and been the only ones on that line to do so! Still easy to always blame ARRIVA on here it seems.
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The problems with both Arriva and London Midland lie with the way their franchises are run. Even if they could go out and ‘buy or lease’ extra trains or carriages they wouldn’t be allowed to. London Midland’s franchise doesn’t specify them running Sunday trains.
Blame the Department of Transport who originally specified and let the franchises. And don’t expect anything to change under the current lot either – apart from money being even tighter. Rail privatisation was messed up when it was first introduced and every effort by the Government since (of whatever political persuasion) has also been a mess-up.
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i really think it is bad as i commute to and from birmingham regularly and always find it crowded early morning and early evening and think if arriva have spare trains they should get there finger out and find a solution asap
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I too travelled on the 09.27 from Shrewsbury to Barmouth on Sat 28th August.
We were at station 40 mins before train arrived from birmingham, and well before most peopple that got on.
The train was 3/4 full on arrival (4 coaches) and by the time we got on we had no where to sit, due to lots of reserved tickets, and people pushing in.
We had to stand until Machynlleth, and after the train split, they added 2 extra coaches to the Pwllelli section, but only opened 1 carriage. this was soon full, and left many people standing, with 1 coach empty Locked at rear!
We then got the 16.53 back from barmouth to Machynlleth which we had to change at Mach. this too was full, and the connecting train from Mach to Shrewsbury was also full.
Both of these were 2 coach trains.
On a busy Bank holiday saturday.
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Totally agree as I am a regular commuter too. I cannot believe they reserve seats anyway, as you cant reserve one between Telford and Birmingham when you buy a ticket, but you can if you are going on a bit further. A colleague of mine complained about the over crowding and was told that it’s safer with more people on as there is less chance of them being thrown around the carriage. The trains are worn and really dirty and the Wrexham to Shropshire trains put Arriva to shame! As for George@ Asda’s comments, some people have to go out of Telford to work. Do you really think we choose to go through this rigmarole for fun?
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If you pay for a ticket you surely deserve a seat! Where is our ticket money going to if they can’t afford more trains?
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Your money is going to fat cat directors and shareholders.
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“Where is our ticket money going to if they can’t afford more trains?
Come on now, you don’t expect the executives of the train companies to subsist on meagre little salaries and travel on (ugh!) public transport, do you? We have to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed.
As the taxpayer now forks over more money every year to the railways than when they were nationalised, someone has to make a profit, be fair!
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… last year the head of Railtrack, Ian Coucher, bought himself a nice big estate in Scotland, and is spoilt for choice between his Lamborghini and Aston Martin. You don’t begrudge him a little slice off the cost of your rail ticket, do you?
No wonder Tony Blair says he was stupid to bring in the Freedom of Information Act.
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Get ready for big price hikes – as they have no extra trains (and it will take ages to build them even if they decided they wanted to) they will try and price people off the trains to limit overcrowding.
British Rail used to do it and now the private operators will be TOLD to do it by the Government.
To Tom L – your ticket price is a drop in ocean to what it costs to take you by train and it is the good humble taxpayer who gets to subsidise your fare for the privelige of you standing to work. As a taxpayer, I am happy with that. If you want a seat, go to work on an earlier train or go home 30 minutes later – I used to commute daily into Manchester and that was how I did it, no stress then at all.
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As an ex employee of London Midland and Central Trains I can appreciate the anger and frustration of customers, sadly, no one is actually entitled to a seat just because they have a ticket, the seats are provided as an ‘extra’ for those that can get one. Usually because a service is running late, seat reservation labels may not be put out, resulting in disappointment. Wrexham and Shropshire are the only company offering First Class between Wolverhampton and Wrexham.
Jammed in a train between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, I once joked with my passengers, If we were transporting animals the RSPCA would shut us down, a voice in the crush replied, I work for the RSPCA and yes we bloody well would.
I left the railway industry 3 years ago and clearly nothing has changed apart from the fact that you now pay even more for your misery.
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Have just spent a week near Chichester Sussex and travelled both up the coast and to London.All the trains which were very frequent were all less than 10 yrs old .modern,very comfortable and whilst in the day they were fairly full after rushour loads of room but still a frequent service.Southerners would go spare if they had to put up with the cattle wagons in the rest of the country.Last school hol took my grandchildren for a trip from Welshpool.Train when arrived,all 2 coaches was bulging.100,s were left standing.What a farce.This is common.We are in a recession and the railways are crying out for new carriages,which the dft civil servants won,t authorise to be builtWhy do we put up with it.There would be riots in Europe over this treatment to future railgowers.Billions are spent in London lengthening trains and platforms to take sometimes ever decreasing passenger figures what about the 2nd class people of elsewhere
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