Remove First's rail franchise - MP (From Evesham Journal)

Remove First's rail franchise - MP

8:06am Monday 30th July 2007 in News By Katie Thompson

MID Worcestershire MP Peter Luff has slammed First Great Western's rail services and is calling for the government to scrap the farcical' franchise and bring in a more competent company to control the line between Worcester and London.

Mr Luff challenged Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons and urged her to put pressure on First Great Western to improve its abysmal' level of service.

Kelly responded by offering assurances that an improvement strategy is in place.

Mr Luff said: "The floods will have made First Great Western's job even harder, but they can't blame the weather for the appalling state of service in recent months.

Until we see these improvements, all assurances, whether from the Secretary of State or First Great Western, are meaningless."

First Great Western's performance, which was revealed earlier this year, showed almost one in five trains was late. Mr Luff said it is time for the Government to act.

"The service has become almost farcical. It is time to put passengers first and ensure we get the rail service we deserve from a company with the abilities to deliver it," he added.

The tory MP has also been addressing the continuing delay to the proposed disability ramp at Evesham station.

At a meeting at the Commons recently, Mr Luff was told the project had been delayed after engineers discovered soil conditions were unsuitable for the original designs. This means going back to the drawing board at as estimated additional cost of £80,000.

Mr Luff said: "I am bitterly disappointed that these engineering problems were discovered at the eleventh hour.

The urgently needed disability ramp has been held up for far too long. We are not asking for the earth. It is a simple problem, with a simple solution, and one that needs addressing now."