It may be false memory syndrome, but I seem to recall that travelling by train was a lot more fun when I was young. 

 

35 years ago, taking the train was a great adventure. When travelling with my family, the train would generally arrive on time, the fares were easy to understand and we'd always get a seat.  So what's gone wrong?

 

There's no doubt that rail services have been in steady decline for some time.  Over the last 5 years I've noticed the crowded trains, difficulties with connections from Slough and general unreliability as trains seem to take longer than ever before to reach their destination.  It's no wonder that we're frustrated and I am not surprised to receive letters from hot and bothered residents.

Unfortunately, the falling standards have not been matched with decreasing fares.  Instead fares have increased steadily, making commuting by train to London an expensive way to travel when the car parking is taken into account for those who have no choice but to drive to the station.

This week I met with representatives from First Great Western for a briefing on the new timetable and their customer service levels.  The new December timetable does not appear to be altogether good news because we'll have to put up with pretty much the same peak timetable as we have had since late 2004.  It appears that much of the difficulty we face is because the Government decided to push through many more longer-distance trains without the necessary track capacity being in place.  This is exacerbating many of the problems Windsor commuters face such as overcrowding, delays and unreliable services.

Since 1997, a central theme of the government’s transport policy has been to take more cars off the roads and persuade people to use the public transport network and, given the obvious environmental benefits and easing of congestion on our roads, this is a worthy aim.  But until the Government ensures we have a rail network with adequate capacity to meet their long-distance traveller goals, it is unlikely that residents will be tempted to get out of their cars and take the train.