A public meeting is being held tonight to save South Western Railway’s direct train service from Bristol to London Waterloo which is due to cease in December.
Nearly 3,000 people have so far signed a petition after the announcement was made without consultation with rail user groups or local authorities and approved by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
The petition says: “This is a well-used service. No practical alternative is available or offered. It provides the only through trains from London to Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Oldfield Park and Keynsham. It provides the only through services from Bristol and Bath to South London. It connects to much of the South East. It provides much needed extra capacity.”
The West Wilts Rail Users Group, Railfuture Severnside and others are working together to save the service. Campaigners are asking that the trains continue to run pending consultation and effective ongoing provision.
Graham Ellis, who is organising tonight’s meeting, said: “This has all the hallmarks of a Whitehall decision made on poor and incorrect data, news sneaked out in a publication about something else, and not consulted on. Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Oldfield Park and Keynsham will be really badly affected, losing all of their direct trains to London.”
Tonight’s public meeting is at Bethesda Baptist Church in Trowbridge and is being streamed on Zoom – the link is https://tinyurl.com/3f2upx5m
The petition can be signed here.
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