Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has today congratulated fellow MPs and local councils who supported the campaign for the vital redoubling of the Swindon to Kemble line – an improvement that would have sharply improved services for passengers travelling from Cheltenham Spa. But he regretted the decision today by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) not to include the project in their list of ‘funded enhancement schemes’ for Network Rail. He has already contacted ORR this morning to express his disappointment and has been told the door is not finally closed if new funding can be found. He will call on government to fund it as part of their anti-recession strategy.
“After all the effort we all put into this campaign, this comes a bitter disappointment. The Swindon to Kemble redoubling would have allowed more direct services from Cheltenham to Reading and London and a more reliable service generally. As a regular rail user myself, I know what Cheltenham Spa rail users are going through and it’s very discouraging to think we might now have to wait until 2014 before the service improves significantly. The Office of Rail Regulation told me this morning that in theory the scheme could still go ahead if a better business case was made and if other funding could be found. I think we made a very good business case this time – this was one of the quickest and most cost-efficient schemes proposed – so the key is government funding.
If the government are looking for public schemes to invest in that will oil the wheels of the economy as we go into recession, this has to be a strong candidate. It would be good for business and good for rail users over a wide area because of the widespread benefits a more reliable network would bring.
I’d like to thank Gloucestershire County Council for their efforts on this campaign as the lead council for the county and also Gloucestershire First and the other MPs who made submissions to ORR. I’m particularly grateful that my Lib Dem MP colleague from Bristol, Stephen Williams was one of the few non-Gloucestershire MPs to lobby ORR. It’s a shame our efforts weren’t successful.”
The full ORR determination document can be found at the ORR website at www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/383.pdf
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