Volte Face for FGW |
After many months of campaigning and countless letters and meetings with First Great Western (FGW) Reading West MP, Martin Salter, has today welcomed the announcement that services are to be improved on the Kennet Valley line from Newbury which serves Theale and Reading West stations in his constituency.
FGW have just announced their intention to double the number of carriages on the 07.25am from Newbury to London Paddington to tackle overcrowding and have agreed to insert an additional stop at Reading West station. They have also agreed to reinstate the late night 00.15am service back from Reading to Newbury which had been axed under their revised timetable. Last month Martin Salter was sent a petition this week from 70 angry commuters from Reading West station pointing out that they have seen services at their station reduced to only one fast train to London at 06.46am, following First Great Western’s new timetable which was introduced on December 10th. Previously, they had semi-fast London services from Newbury stopping at Reading West at 07.23am and 07.50am. The petition demanded the reinstatement of through trains at peak hours for Reading West station. Mr Salter, who will be meeting Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander MP on Wednesday with other Thames Valley MPs, had also protested at FGW’s removal of late night trains from Reading to Newbury. The revised timetable ended at 10pm which made it almost impossible for people west of Reading to travel into town for a night out. Martin Salter said: “I’m pleased that First Great Western have responded positively to the representations I and my constituents have been making on the Kennet Valley services. "Reading West commuters will welcome the return of a semi-fast service to London and its good news that people in Theale and further west will now be able to enjoy a night out in Reading and still get home by train”. He added: “However, none of this would have been necessary if FGW had listened to the representations made to them by commuters, councillors and MPs in advance of their December 10th timetable fiasco. "These changes are steps in the right direction but I want to assure my constituents in Tilehurst and Pangbourne that I am still pressing for similar action to restore peak hour services at both these stations and I am hopeful that an announcement will be made in the next few weeks.” 26/02/07 |
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