Tring and Berkhamsted Liberal Democrats' Response to the West Midlands Rail Franchise Consultation

Tring and Berkhamsted are two important stations served by the suburban services currently run by London Midland. The rail services are now attracting more and more commuters coming not only from those two towns but also from the surrounding countryside as much as 20 miles away. Many commuters are now reaching the stations by car and there are consequently serious capacity problems. The car parks are full by 0930 most days and latecomers are parking in surrounding residential areas, on roads and in the nearby lanes.

This is causing dangerous and obstructive parking on many lanes and roads and residents are sometimes even prevented from entering or exiting from their own drives to their homes.

Tring and Berkhamsted Liberal Democrats are convinced that developing access to the stations by means other than by private cars has to be the response to this problem.

In their response to the Rail Franchise Consultation they are calling for there to be an obligation on the successful franchise bidder to make significant contributions towards financing means of sustainable access to the stations. These could be financial support for buses, or for the construction of safe cycletracks and footways or even for the construction of a new parkway station elsewhere on the line.

The response also addresses most of the other 21 question contained in the consultation document. Click here to view the full document.