Stone rail services to be scrapped
January 31, 2005 8:26 PM
End of the line for trains at Stone?
Stone will lose its rail services if proposals from the Strategic Rail Authority announced today are put into effect. The SRA intends to scrap all services between Stoke and Stafford because, it says, not enough people are using the service. Richard Stevens and Stone Liberal Democrats deplore the plan and intend to rally support for a campaign to save the service.
"This announcement is totally contrary to what the SRA said last year when the service was temporarily withdrawn for "driver training", said Richard. "We were assured that the service would be reinstated this summer. How can the SRA possibly calculate the potential number of passengers when there has been no service for months and prior to that Stone Station was looking like a builder's yard whilst being restored for almost two years. Those facts, added to some rather weird timetabling, have acted as a positive deterrent to potential passengers"
Richard is astounded that this decision has been announced only weeks after Stone Station won a prestigious national heritage award for the restoration project completed last year. Richard believes that promoting rail use from Stone Station could make a positive impact upon traffic congestion into Stafford and Stoke and also to further destinations such as Birmingham and Manchester.
I intend to contact all interested parties to arrange a meeting to organise a campaign against these proposals", said Richard. " I'm sure we have a strong case for retaining this service"
Anyone who wishes to comment or help in this campaign can contact Richard by using the 'Your Views' link on this page
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