'Pack 'Em In' : Standing Room for train passengers - Cable

12.00.00am GMT Tue 31st Oct 2006

Vincent Cable (right) has accused the government of misleading the public over the future of railway commuting

After Vincent Cable (Lib Dem MP for Twickenham) met the managing director of South West Trains, Stewart Palmer, on Friday it emerged that the government had misled the public over the future of railway commuting under the new franchise. Initial publicity suggesting more trains and more seats was wrong. There will be an expected 20% more passengers but no more seats. Instead doors are being widened and seats removed or redesigned to facilitate more standing.

Vincent Cable said:

"SW Trains were brutally frank that the franchise they have won requires them only to maintain the current service but for a bigger number of passengers. In order to keep down the subsidy, the government has adopted a 'cheap and cheerful' approach to commuting and has renewed the franchise for Stagecoach because it will apply this tough, commercial, approach to delivering this objective. The only improvements will be less crowding around the doors. SW Trains acknowledge that, at least for peak hour services, train travel will become more like underground commuter travel: no one should expect the luxury of sitting down".

"At least we now know where we stand. But local people have, I think, a reasonable grievance: that we were led to believe by the government that there would be improvements. In the longer term there may be some relief from more trains running out of Waterloo International but that is some years off. I am seeking a debate in parliament on the franchise since the lack of clarity and transparency is almost as bad as the outcome itself."