50 signatures reached
To: Chris Grayling - Sec of State for Transport
Investment in Rail Services - Exeter Area
Exeter is a busy and thriving city with several train stations. Growth in business, excellent employment rates, successful Premiership rugby team, a football team and increased numbers of students to an outstanding college and university have meant that the infrastructure can no longer cope with the demand. We want:
- More carriages on the lines NOW!! Not in several months time like we keep being promised (although the time frames change daily)
- Faster response times to broken ticket machines to prevent clogging and long queues and destination stations
- Abandonment of the new QR ticket system as they don’t work despite the new turnstile machines being fitted, which hold up station exits at commuter times (GWR have said that the government have insisted in these types of tickets!)
- More carriages on sporting match days as the squashing in carriages is unacceptable
- Influence a freeze on another price hike until services have improved and offer value for money i.e. being able to get a seat and not leaving paying customers on the platform due to lack of space!
Why is this important?
Failure to respond NOW to these inadequacies in our train network will eventually lead to people returning to driving in to an already crowded and clogged city, where car parking spaces are at a premium or not visiting Exeter at all, resulting in a dented economy.
The numbers of people who are squashed in to carriages is unacceptable both as a health and safety matter but also on a personal security and safety point of view. We want to be free from being touched inappropriately but unavoidably. Feeling comfortable to travel by train and being safe is paramount.
With the rise in mental health related issues in our society, these conditions are very difficult for some and may become a barrier to them accessing transport services that they need to live their lives - anxiety which could result in panic attack and also claustrophobia, to name a few. If anyone was take ill on such crowded services, no-one would be able to get to them or have space to help them.
