Timetable Announcement Confirms The Great Bedford Rail Betrayal
East Midlands Railway (EMR) consultation branded a complete disgrace as the Conservative's downgrade of Bedford's trains from December 2020 is confirmed.
Claims of a "more frequent service" were branded complete nonsense by Henry Vann, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Bedford and Kempston, as slower trains - all stopping at Luton and Luton Airport - are proposed in the return of EMR services, completing the Conservatives' betrayal of Bedford's already hard-pressed rail users
The East Midlands Railway consultation is out and it confirms Bedford commuters' and leisure travellers worst fears:
- Totally remove Bedford form the Intercity map
- No Direct links north beyond Kettering and Corby (due to Conservative imposed cuts to direct north bound trains)
- Slower commuter style trainsto London in place of today's intercity services [going from as fast as 35 minutes to 41 minutes].
Henry Vann, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Bedford and Kempston, himself a former commuter, condemned the farcical consultation saying:
"The Conservatives have let down Bedford and Kempston and residents across Bedford Borough yet again; they simply can't be trusted on the railways."
"We have had all the pain for electrification with the closure of Bromham Road Bridge, and cancelled trains, but none of the gain. The Government must now intervene and reverse its decision imposed in this broken franchise. They are directly responsible for this disaster."
"The so-called 'return of East Midlands services' is profoundly misleading. I urge people to sign mine and Daniel Norton's petition for the full restoration of our northern connection, and for faster trains into London."
"In a further slap in the face, in their consultation document, Network Rail call The Midland Main Line "one of the UK's most important railways" but they continue to let us down around Bromham Road Bridge and numerous other delayed or cancelled works."
You can sign the petition against this major downgrade of Bedford's rail services, which the Liberal Democrats will present to East Midlands Railways, here: http://henryvann.org.uk/Rail