Old news
| The changes to train services at Nuneaton are with the rail regulator. The London Midlands weekend timetable is still a secret but we know Virgin is trying to restrict the London Midlands slow service. Virgin was given a Monopoly on train services between Nuneaton and Euston back in 1998. Now they want to run just 6 trains per day from Nuneaton to Euston but wish to stop us having a good alternative. It seems they have monopoly rights on our train service but no obligation to run a service all day. Virgin can permit London Midlands to run trains but can stop them being too useful.see read about Virgin’s Monopoly | |
| 23rd July 2008 - Warwickshire County Council will give up on legal battle to save our daytime Virgin service after a closed meeting of the cabinet at our borough tonight. WCC have been walked over by the DfT. This should have gone to court or been given up months ago.The Office of Rail Regulation is now our only legal hope of sorting out the messy timetable we will be left with. As it stands Virgin hold a monopoly on direct services to London but will not provide us trains between 8:45AM and 9:03 PM. London - midlands will run the slow stopping service but only when virgin are not stopping. getting cheap tickets is going to be very hard. Wilmslow is still to get an hourly service! Rail Regulation | |
| After a lot of delay the minister has finally replied to my request for a meeting with a no. What they say does not add up. The daytime timetable is the same every hour but only at 10AM can they stop a train at Nuneaton. Read how he just sides with his staff who are judge and jury as to who matters.(read the letter in new window) | |
Letter from DfT - our journey time does not matter.We have had a letter from the DfT after a long delay. They will make the 5:35AM from Euston to Liverpool stop at Nuneaton at 6:40AM. Otherwise its sod Nuneaton as they need to take 3 minutes off the time from Liverpool. (read the letter in new window) I do not think the DfT understand that Virgin has already made the service useless for many. Nuneaton saver tickets are the most limited on the West Coast network. The peak hour ban on returning on a saver ticket from Euston is 5 hours long (14:17 to 19:17). We also have the latest morning arrival time via direct train of 11:48. If you do not want to wait till 7:17PM you only have 2 hours and 29 minutes in London. |
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| Trains not saved - Bill Olner has got it wrong! read more | |
| 22nd December till 3rd January 13 Days without Virgin trainsyet again we have no trains - it will take hours to get to Euston. No direct replacement bus from Nuneaton. Some days replacement bus service fail to connect at Coventry. Other days you have had to go via Birmingham or Leicester. | |
Virgin will not admit we are to lose service.On 2nd January 2008 a virgin spokesman lied on BBC local radio and said we would get a better service after the mess at Rugby. The day after a different spokesman talked about Rugby when asked a direct question about Nuneaton. BBC radio C & W 2nd Jan (listen very carefully to what is said) BBC radio C & W 3rd Jan (90 seconds in - and secondly what about Nuneaton) If you would like to have words with Jim Rowe his direct number is 0207 9838 042 or email Jim.Rowe@virgintrains.co.uk |
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Consultation over - but the fight is onWe have to wait a few weeks to see if they will take any notice of your views from the low key consultation. If you missed the deadline then still write in and send them Comments ASAP2008 timetables changes then email to:- WCRMtimetables@dft.gsi.gov.ukor Write to: |
Does Virgin hate Nuneaton?Last week Eurostar announced people in the west Midlands would be able to get though tickets to France and Belgium from our main stations. Yet again Nuneaton has been disadvantaged by being left off. Rugby, Coventry, Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa will all be able to book tickets to Paris. Far less likely places like Oxenholme are on the list (6 hours 20 to Paris). Oxenholme has a population of 2,206, its closest town is Kendal pop 28,000. Nuneaton and Bedworth has a population of 105,000 and would be about 4 hours 20 to Paris I spoke to the press office at Eurostar who told me it was for technical problems which is why we were left out. On pressing them they could not tell my what the problem was. They said I had to talk to Virgin. Virgin are unhelpful. Virgin are disadvantaging us in Nuneaton as wish to remove most of our service. This is to give them faster times to Liverpool, Manchester and Oxenholme. |
Wilmslow to be given our hourly train service.Wilmslow, which is to gain a service at our expense, only had 35,850 journeys to or from London last year by virgin trains. Wilmslow is only 7 minutes by train from Stockport. It has 5 Virgin trains direct each way in the day and 27 other London services by changing at Crewe. This adds 10-20 minutes to the trip. It has a 7-day a week service. Over 4 times as many people travel by train from Nuneaton than Wilmslow but we are to have our service removed and have 46 minutes added to our journeys so that a far smaller number of people in Wilmslow can save 10-20 minutes. Trivia about Wilmslow, car dealer Stratstone in Wilmslow is accountable for one fifth of all £100,000 Aston-Martin sales nationally. It seems the railways are being subsidised to provide first class travel for a few Aston-martin owners. An hourly direct train service to London is far more important to Nuneaton than it is to Wilmslow. |
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