Bedford Borough Lib Dems in SHOCK to reductions in train services

Liberal Democrats in Bedford Borough Council are shocked at the announcement that the Department of Transport (DoT) are continuing with no intercity trains stopping in Bedford during peak morning hours, travelling to London, from May 2018.

Also East Midland train services will not be stopping in Bedford during peak evening hours.

Between 7am and 10am and 4pm to 7pm - the most important hours in the day - rail users in Bedford will not be able to use inter-city East Midland Trains to get to and from work into London in the mornings and out of London in the evenings.

In addition, Liberal Democrat Councillors in Bedford are appalled that rail users from Northamptonshire and Leicestershire will now be asked to get a bus from Wellingborough if they wish to travel and commute to Bedford - starting from May 2018 extending over a two year period.

Cllr Michael Headley said "These cuts in rail travel do not make sense. East Midland Trains will still be running inter-city services via Wellingborough to London during the morning period but have been told by the Department of Transport not to use Bedford as a stopping point to pick up Bedford commuters. This is the start of the government reducing train services in Bedford under the disguise of train investments and network improvements."

Cllr Charles Royden added "Investment in our railways should mean an increase in services, not a reduction. We welcome the electrification of the Bedford mainline which helps the environment however these plans have been greatly scaled back with electrification only going as far as Kettering and the Department of Transport appears insistent that inter-city fast train services in and out of Bedford should be reduced in the name of improvements. It's nonsense."

Cllr Henry Vann ends by saying "This is a complete disgrace. With little consultation we are going to see increases in travel times, and no fast trains or northbound connections at all during so called peak times for two years. This will cause huge inconvenience for residents of Bedford Borough and those who come here to work on the train. On top of this, the Thameslink trains are significantly poorer in terms of commuting experience than the East Midlands trains which are being cut. The Department of Transport should backtrack on this as soon as possible."

The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight against these proposals so please sign our petition to get these cuts reversed: https://mayordave.org.uk/en/petition/opposing-cuts-to-bedford-train-services