John Penrose

Conservative Party | Weston-super-Mare

Weston MP John Penrose boards new First Great Western high speed train service connecting local commuter belt Worle to Bristol, Swindon, Reading and London Paddington

10 December 2007

Heading straight for London and Parliament, Weston MP John Penrose boards one of the first high speed trains to make a scheduled stop at Worle station - a future potential commuter transport hub for Weston and its surrounding areas.

On the first working-week day of train operator First Great Western’s new 2007/2008 timetable,
Andrew Griffiths, First Great Western’s Regional Manager, will be with the MP.

The 7.59a.m.peak hour commute signals victory for a two-and-half year campaign by the MP for higher capacity, more reliable, London-bound high speed trains (HSTs) to call more regularly at Weston-super-Mare and Weston Milton in the rush hour and, for the first time, make peak-hour HST stops, morning and evening, at the smaller, neighbouring Worle station.

In a cross party drive, North Somerset Council (NSC) has been calling for improved rail network links for the last decade. Joining the MP at 7.40a.m. for the 7.59a.m. HST out of Worle station will be former councillors and past executive members of NSC’s Strategic Planning and Transport Group, Liberal Democrat, John Crockford-Hawley and Conservative, Peter Burden. Both were instrumental in pushing for improvements.

A platform party of current North Somerset councillors will also be there to see the train out.

New HST stops at Worle are enabled by FGW’s provision of a ‘selective door opening’ system to accommodate the station’s short platforms. The system is part of a £110 million upgrade of FGW’s HST fleet. An £11 million upgrade of its local train fleet is also underway.

Says John Penrose: “There are 20,000 Westonians battling to get to work in Bristol and beyond every day. The queues to get past 'malfunction junction' and onto the M5 every morning are atrocious, so we have to give people a decent alternative to taking cars to work.

"High speed trains couldn't stop at Worle before so people had to make do with smaller trains on local services. The new service is a major step in the right direction; with bigger, less crowded, more comfortable and reliable carriages meaning people can leave their cars at home and help the environment as well."

FGW’s Weston-linked timetable improvements mark a step towards the ‘Western Package’ Major Scheme Bid, supported by both North Somerset Council and the rail industry. That scheme, championed by MP John Penrose, proposes extending platforms at Worle; providing better passenger facilities, a larger car park and better interchange with buses.