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Trains axed for Ludlow Food and Drink Festival weekend
Thursday 25th August 2011, 11:18AM BST.
Every train through Ludlow will be replaced by buses on the weekend thousands of visitors are due to flock to the town’s annual Food and Drink Festival.
Festival organisers to-day hit out at rail chiefs for refusing to postpone 48 hours of engineering works in the area on September 10 and 11.
Timetables show rail passengers must use replacement buses on both days when travelling between Hereford and Shrewsbury and also between Broome, near Craven Arms, and Shrewsbury.
Beth Heath, publicity officer, said it was an “absolute nightmare” for everyone involved with the three-day festival, one of the biggest food events in Britain.
Mrs Heath said: “It’s absolutely a major problem for us. We are worried the train companies won’t be able to put on enough buses as we are expecting 22,000 people over the weekend.
“It’s an absolute nightmare and we are just hoping it won’t put anyone off what will be a wonderful weekend in Ludlow. ”
Festival organisers said they had been inundated with messages from angry visitors trying to book rail tickets. Ludlow’s park-and-rides will be expanded during the weekend, but all buses to the town are expected to be busy.
Arriva Trains Wales said the timetabling of engineering works was a matter for Network Rail.
Keith Lumley, for Network Rail, said: “Any concerns regarding replacement buses should go to Arriva Trains Wales, as it’s their job to organise these services.”
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That is very strange. Not only will the trains be robbing Ludlow of visitors and income; they will also be denying themselves of potential income from the visitors who will not come.
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The same weekend that Hereford United Fans will be travelling to Shrewsbury !!
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What a nightmare for all the Shrewsbury Town football fans travelling to Hereford for the towns away game there on the 10th
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Death by a thousand poorly timed engineering works…you’d almost be forgiven for thinking that someone wanted the railways dead and buried. Oil have to give some more thought.
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Correction everyone. Hereford are playing at Shrewsbury’s Greehouse Meadow !! Could still be a problem for Hereford fans though.
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Let’s delay much needed engineering work that will benefit thousands of people for the sake of a relatively small number who go to the food festival by train.
Foodies – they really think they rule the world.
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May be they could make a long week end of it & stay a few more day’s in lovely Ludlow (no trains is good for town trade?!).
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And when should they do it instead? Maybe on a week day prehaps, that way we can all be late to and from work just so you can have your free tasty samples at the food festival! Get a grip poeple, it’s a food festival!!! Many of us rely on the trains to travel to work so we can feed the kids, and if its got to be maintained then better a weekend than a weekday.
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Well done for completely missing the point dave. When could they do it instead? How about one of the other 51 weekends of the year. Free tasty samples… yep. whatever. if i wanted free samples it would be a lot easier to stand in my local sainsburys.
Then you bang on about feeding your kids. What about all the exhibitors that will be denied additional trade due to the lack of visitors? What about their kids or are you too wrapped up in your own quest to feed yours that nobody else’s matter?
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52 weekends in a year and the railway company picks the one when Ludlow especially needs the train service! Did you not think of asking anyone at either shropshire or ludlow councils, or is it because you knew you’d be told “no”?
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