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Andrew StunellWorking hard for Bredbury, Compstall, Great Moor, Hawk Green, Hazel Grove, Heaviley, High Lane, Marple, Marple Bridge, Mellor, Offerton, Romiley, Rose Hill, Strines & Woodley since 1997 |
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STUNELL PRESSES TRANSPORT MINISTER ON LOCAL TRAIN OVERCROWDING
March 12, 2009 2:55 PM
Local MP Andrew Stunell took his fight to cut overcrowding on trains on the Hazel Grove line and other commuter services in Greater Manchester to the House of Commons this week, grilling Transport Minister Geoff Hoon on the issue at Question Time.
The new West Coast Mainline timetable has pushed Northern Rail's commuter trains to the back of the queue at Piccadilly Station, with fewer and shorter trains leading to massive commuter overcrowding.
Andrew demanded that extra carriages be added to local trains, using surplus trains from the Oldham Loop which will become available when construction of the tram link starts there later this year. The Secretary of State agreed there was a problem, but refused to commit to releasing the Oldham trains.
Mr Stunell has so far led a successful campaign to improve services for commuters, securing an extra train from Piccadilly to Hazel Grove during rush hour to ease congestion, after a showdown with Northern Rail bosses.
Commenting, Andrew said:
"I'm glad that the minister recognises that commuter overcrowding on the Piccadilly-Hazel Grove line continues to be a problem even with the extra train in the evening. It is now time for him to act to firmly and get these extra carriages for this route.
"Longer trains are the only solution to the overcrowding, as Piccadilly can't accommodate any extra services due to the new mainline timetable. To do that, they need more carriages.
"This autumn, work starts on converting the Oldham loop rail line to Metrolink, so they will soon have some surplus trains available from that line.
"It is essential that these surplus trains are transferred to our line as soon as possible, which I pressed the Minister on today.
"The bad news is that so far the Government want to use them on longer distance services elsewhere. I have long been campaigning to get the government to build more new trains - but now it seems we have to fight even to get the ones we've got put to good use locally."
ENDS
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