YP Letters: Action needed as region grinds to halt and chokes on fumes

From: Coun Carmel Harrison, Liberal Democrat councillor for Rothwell Ward, Leeds City Council.
When will rial services in Leeds be more reliable?When will rial services in Leeds be more reliable?
When will rial services in Leeds be more reliable?

THE Government has announced that there will be disruption into 2020 for commuters from our region to London as it attempts to cut journey times to the capital from Leeds to two hours (The Yorkshire Post, October 17).

King’s Cross will be closed across assorted weekends and somehow, though it seems unclear how, passengers will end their journey by train at Peterborough and continue by other means.

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The consensus among commuters and passengers in the region is that they should divert that cash into regional and local transport services.

In the same week, First has announced fare increases for an unreliable service while Northern announces continued strikes on old rolling stock and overcrowded trains. Commuters have had their fill.

The time has come for Leeds City Council to stop procrastinating. There must be a devolution bill agreed and money for local transport must come into West Yorkshire to be spent on our priorities.

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Unreliable and unaffordable public transport is forcing many commuters to use their cars, adding further pressure to already overcrowded roads.

There is insufficient car parking and no adequate cycling network to encourage healthier commutes. Leeds residents have some of the worst respiratory health in the UK, thanks partly to this shambolic public transport network.

There has to be investment in safe networks for cyclists and walkers.

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All these measures would free up the roads, make our environment healthier and perhaps boost economic growth in the region. Is there the dynamic leadership in the region we need for this? I suspect not.

From: Michael Blake, Slaithwaite.

ONE of the points that I raised with TransPennine Express and Northern representatives at West Yorkshire Combined Authority was the damage caused to local businesses, and the inconvenience and misery inflicted on passengers and 
their families, if two consecutive trains were cancelled and no temporary stop order was put in place, since that left us without a service for three hours.

The other day, the 14.07 and 15.07 services to Manchester were cancelled, as were the 15.15 and 16.15 services to Leeds leaving a three-hour gap in rail services from Slaithwaite in both directions.