CLOSING TRAIN STATION WOULD BE IDIOTIC, SAY MPS (Julia Goldsworthy)

Julia Goldsworthy <info@juliagoldsworthy.org>

CLOSING TRAIN STATION WOULD BE IDIOTIC, SAY MPS

November 17, 2009 1:00 PM

Cornish MPs Julia Goldsworthy and Andrew George are calling for a meeting with First Great Western and Network Rail to safeguard the future of Hayle railway station.

The move comes as rail passengers have complained that changes to the timetable have discouraged the use of Hayle station. But MPs Andrew George and Julia Goldsworthy, who represent Hayle and Camborne respectively, insist that more rather than less trains should stop at Hayle.

Julia said: "The number of cars on the road in Hayle is already too high, and is only set to increase when the redevelopment of the harbour eventually takes place. Closing the train station will make congestion ten times worse. It would be madness to do this now. Clearly what is needed is a fixed timetable and regular services to encourage more people to use the station - not endless tinkering by rail bosses."

Andrew George added: "My family and I use Hayle station quite often and usually see a healthy number of passengers getting on or off. If they closed the station it would be a cynical move. First they cut the trains that stop at Hayle and change the timetable. This reduces passenger use of the station. Then they point out that passenger numbers have fallen and want to close the station. A closure thread entirely of their creation. With plans for another 2,000 houses in the area and against a backdrop of a transport policy to encourage more public transport usage, such a more would be idiotic".

The move by the MPs comes as Network Rail have introduced a new initiative to improve Britain's railway stations. The Action Stations initiative will mean £3.2bn is pumped into the UK network over the next five years.

Julia said: "This is clearly the right time to get Network Rail and First Great Western round the table to find out what can be done to save Hayle train station. It must be possible to find a solution that benefits both the town and the railway network as a whole."