CANBER - Campaign Against New Beeching Report

Andrew Griffiths, First Great Western Regional Manager for the Severn & Solent Area, once described the proposals for Severn Beach station contained within the Severn Beach Line Development Plan as follows :

"The logic is that of a small interchange."

Well, I'm not sure what definition of "logic" Andrew was using, but there appeared to be very little in evidence when I visited Severn Beach station yesterday.

There used to be a map, devised by South Gloucestershire Council, that showed all the local bus services plus a summary of their timings. This disappeared a while back.

I remember the shock when my father came home with a copy of the "London Evening News" on the day the Beeching Report had been published, with a map showing where passenger trains were to be withdrawn - even including Liverpool to Southport - a line which he had used as a commuter up until a couple of years previously, when we had move to London and he had become a rail commuter there, from Petts Wood in Kent up to Holborn Viaduct. How do things look today? Are the railways now safe?

I was flattered when Lee asked me to become a contributor to this ‘new’ CANBER website – but also rather embarrassed, as I’m not an active campaigner personally. However, I do use the trains a fair bit, and have done for many years, so I’ve certainly seen what the recent history of the railways has been like, from a passenger perspective.

Rail fares have risen by 6% in the last 10 years, while the overall cost of motoring - despite petrol price increases - has fallen 4% since 2005.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070717/text...
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080519/text...

At Campaign for Better Transport www.bettertransport.org.uk we think it's time for Government to reward people who travel by train because they produce less carbon than if they were driving.

Welcome to our new website.

The final post from our former BBC Action Network website explains how CANBER came into existence, the circumstances surrounding its creation and the achievements so far (link below.)
http://www.canber.co.uk/?q=node/22

Article originally posted by Lee Fletcher

A day of disaster marked the start of First Great Western's new timetable (links below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=804.msg2337#msg2337

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/6169077.stm

Here are two quotes from the original Beeching Report.

Article originally posted by Lee Fletcher.

Here is an analysis by Graham Ellis of Save The Train.

How is it that First can make the money to pay the government 1 billion pounds over 10 years, as they've said they'll do under the Great Western franchise? Read the announcements carefully, and you'll see that they're actually receiving a subsidy for the first few years, which they then pay back and more towards the end of the contract.

The award was announced in 2005. Where will things stand by 2010 and 2015? How can the operator (any operator) achieve those figures?

Article originally written by Lee Fletcher.

Here is an article that gives Chris Grayling's view of the current transport situation in the South West , and also expands on possible future Conservative transport policy (link below.)
http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145809&command...

Quote :

Article originally written by Lee Fletcher

Dear Sir,