Innovative ways to tackle poor service from our railways

From: James Bovington, Church Grove, Horsforth, Leeds.

MY friend Christopher Lawson rightly castigates the poor service quality regularly experienced by the weary users of the Harrogate line through Horsforth (Yorkshire Post, September 17).

However, there is a possible solution which is the plan recently promoted by the Harrogate Chamber of Commerce for the line to be electrified at track level and served after 2014 by ex-London Underground stock.

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While this would not initially offer a higher frequency of peak hour service through Horsforth, it would greatly increase the train capacity offered, given that each train can carry up to 800 people.

Off-peak frequency on the other hand would greatly increase with trains offering in effect a metro style “turn up and ride” service and providing more than adequate capacity for major events such as at Carnegie stadium.

The scheme would also make it possible for a new station near to Leeds Bradford Airport with a direct bus connection from the new station to the terminal – just 2km here as opposed to 5km for the equally direct link from Liverpool South Parkway to John Lennon Airport.

Our suburban electrified lines to Skipton and Ilkley offer a rail service that is as good as anywhere else in Europe.

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It would be wonderful of course if there were a viable scheme for the overhead electrification of the Harrogate line with brand new trains, but that is unlikely to happen for many years.

Hence the Harrogate Chamber’s innovative and exciting proposal to electrify and use ex-LUL stock is certainly worth a full feasability study. The scheme merits our support.

From: Graham Lund, Dalrymple Street, Girvan.

YOUR letter writer Christopher Lawson is right to critcise overcrowding on trains into Leeds.

If off peak fares were charged on all trains arriving before 7.45am, some passengers would transfer, leaving high peak services free to offer seats to more of their passengers.

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Car drivers will not transfer to already crowded trains and pay ridiculous fares as well.

From: Andrew Schofield, Menston, Leeds.

IF I was in charge of Northern Rail, I’d be appointing your letter writer Christopher Lawson to put right the rail operator’s many failings.

It is time that passengers had a far greater say. They, after all, tolerate the railways every day.

When was the last time you saw a senior railway executive on an overcrowded train?

From: Coun James Lewis, Chairman, Metro.

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AS well as the additional, new carriages that your correspondent Dr Adrian Morgan quite rightly states are required for our local rail services (Yorkshire Post, September 15), we also need investment in the overall transport network.

That is why Metro and its partners are calling upon business leaders across the Leeds City Region to join local MPs in supporting its bids to the Department for Transport, for new rail stations at Kirkstall and Apperley Bridge, a much-needed refurbishment of Leeds Inner Ring Road and the planned NGT trolleybus network.

By creating permanent jobs, reducing congestion, linking people to new employment opportunities and reducing local companies’ transport costs, these schemes are crucial for the development of the local economy.

If we don’t want to see the Government’s transport funding pot spent on other schemes in towns and cities in other regions, we need business leaders playing an active role, contacting the Department for Transport and stating how important it is that the legacy of transport underspending in our region by successive Governments.