Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

TRAINS

Being so far from anywhere has plusses and minuses. It is a good thing in that our peripherality helps us to remain less built up and congested than other parts of the UK (although you wouldn’t think so driving around Marsh Mills roundabout these days). Apart from Cornwall, which we all know is only there to stop Devon crumbling into the sea; we are the end of the line. Remoteness is a safety barrier helping us to preserve the natural beauty of these special parts.

But our location also impacts our local economy. Our young people need jobs and the difficulties of getting down here can and does dissuade vital job-producing investment. So first class transport links are important if we are to get the balance right between the moor and the mortgage.
This is why the recent revelations about the new train timetable to be introduced by First Great Western in December are such a blow. Two major alarms: the reduction of the number of three hour journeys from Plymouth to Paddington, and the cutback of the number of trains that stop at Ivybridge in both directions. We all roared in the direction of the train operator only then to discover that it was unannounced government cutbacks of rail subsidies that lay behind these disastrous proposals.
Does it matter? Yes, because the three hour link, 4 times a day, was crucial in serving our business community. It is now to be restricted to once a day.

It is true that Ivybridge station has been slow to get off the ground, but passenger numbers has been steadily increasing over recent months, possibly by over 70%. There is every likelihood that with a decent service from the station, this would continue to climb, as more and more of us discovered the advantages of park and ride. At a time when we are all being encouraged to leave our cars at home to save the planet, at a time when rail usage is increasing all over the country, the timing could not be worse. With the added congestion to be caused by the new settlement at Sherford just around the corner, the Ivybridge train option would clearly become more attractive.

A massive campaign has been launched. The business community of the Plymouth travel to work area is hurling itself at Whitehall. We speak with a clear and single voice: reinstate the fast London links and leave the Ivybridge schedule alone.

posted by Nigel on Thursday, April 13, 2006