Firstly on trains we are aware that West Midlands Railway have a new timetable starting from the 1st June in which it seems as if there are significant changes, introducing two different services, one of which travels on a revised route and both stop at different – and not all — stations between Birmingham and Shrewsbury! Check before you travel.
One issue that concerns us is that the government has ended the requirement that railway companies have to report capacity or track problems to them. This means that there is now no information available for passengers either and we can expect to see shorter trains and more overloading, with some trains being reduced say from 8 carriages to 4, or 4 carriages to 2.
In my last report on buses I commented about complaints about services that seem to cut out parts of routes when vehicles are running late – an issue that I said now seems to have spread from Arriva to the Select Bus/ Chasewater services as well. We are now aware that one of the problems for the 101 service is the regular obstruction of Chartwell Road and Toll Road in Arleston by parked cars, and we will suggest a change of route via Princess Avenue and Arleston Lane to overcome this.
Remember that in order to follow up issues with bus services we need the day, the date, the bus service number, the direction of travel and the time that the service problems occurred. This allows us to effectively take them up because Arriva, at least, have the records for each vehicle journey each day. Remember Arriva are a commercial operator and have a new owner, so changes may be expected, but please do not have a go at the drivers – it is not their fault.
We are also aware from Arriva that they will be reviewing timetables for services Nos. 5, 5A, 5E, 6, and 7 for later in the year to try and improve timekeeping.
We are also going to take up with both Arriva and the Borough Council the question of inadequate information for intending passengers when bus services are being significantly diverted because of impending roadworks, and when services are returning to their normal route if roadworks finish early.
Again with regards to problems with the trains we will take up any issues where we have the day, the date, the station, the direction of the train service and the name of the company – West Midlands Trains or Transport for Wales.
We remain aware that the timetables for the new Select Bus/Chasewater services run on behalf of the borough council are difficult to track down and can be found on www.telford.gov.uk/busservices.
Ken Buttress, Chairman, Environment and Transport Action Group.
