All change at Charlbury (From Witney Gazette)

All change at Charlbury

6:30pm Tuesday 22nd January 2008 in Witney By David Horne

A SENIOR railway manager has told Charlbury commuters they were right and First Great Western was wrong over changes to trains calling at the Cotswold Line station.

Commuters started a protest petition following two mornings of delays trying to board rush-hour trains last December.

FGW managers had ruled that the front end of its High Speed Trains, normally the first class coaches on London-bound trains, should stop at stations with short platforms.

At Charlbury, this meant passengers had to queue to use the two doors of the only standard class coach which fitted on the four-coach platform, with the rest occupied by first class.

The change also affected trains calling at Kingham, Shipton and Hanborough, and there were complaints from other communities across the West Country served by FGW.

On the Cotswold Line, FGW signalled a change of heart by the end of the first week of its new timetable and said it would revert to the previous practice of stopping standard class coaches on short platforms.

However, there have been reports on the Charlbury.info website of the eight-coach trains still pulling up with the first class coaches at the platform.

But at a meeting in Charlbury on Friday, Mike Carroll, FGW's route director for London and the Thames Valley, said this would stop within a month, once all its train crews had received a formal briefing on what to do.

He said: "Yes, we got it wrong. We will revert to stopping the back of the train - standard class - on the platforms, to get people on and off quickly."

Passengers also complained about the lack of accommodation for bikes in the trains and a complicated pulley and rack system for storing cycles fitted in the HST power cars, which they blamed for adding to delays at stations.

Mr Carroll said he thought the rack system was "over-engineered" and that FGW would look into providing a simple but secure frame to hold bikes in place during journeys.

Better news for commuters is that work has started on improvement work worth £170,000 at Charlbury station.

It involves a new footpath and lighting from Dyers Hill and the station approach road - as well as resurfacing some of the car park to allow more parking spaces.

There will also be more security and safety fencing under the scheme, funded by Oxfordshire County Council with a contribution from train operators First Great Western.

Further work at the station, one of the busiest on the Cotswold Line, depends on a successful bid to the Department of Transport later this year.

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group is calling for an urgent meeting with First Great Western over problems with the train service between Oxford and Worcester.

Senior FGW manager Mike Carroll admitted at a meeting in Charlbury on Friday that the Cotswold Line was the worst performing route on the entire FGW network.

The CLPG is particularly concerned about poor punctuality and missed connections.