Title: West to miss out on rail growth Post by: Chris from Nailsea on November 18, 2008, 23:06:21 Quote The under-strain South West rail network stands to get just eight new carriages to cope with fast-growing passenger numbers over the next eight years. The Government has already announced only 52 of the 1,300 carriages to be introduced nationwide in 2010 will be allocated to First Great Western, which operates services across the South West and to London. But analysis by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) shows the real number of carriages dedicated to the South West will be in single figures. Twenty carriages are destined for First's operations in London and the Thames Valley, according to the agency, while a further 24, currently on hire from other train operators, have to be returned in 2010. That leaves just eight new carriages ^ or four trains ^ to serve a network which has seen a 15 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the past 18 months. For the full report, from the Western Morning News, see http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/news/WEST-MISS-RAIL-GROWTH/article-478170-detail/article.html This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |