PRESS RELEASE
Issued by:
Councillor Peter Reisdorf
Date of Issue: April 16th 2009
Contact numbers:
0151 625 9274
07952 215451

Call for Bidston-Wrexham line electrification to go ahead

Liberal Democrats in Wirral have stepped up their call for electrification of the Bidston to Wrexham railway line to go ahead. And they have backed proposals that will make it more likely that train companies will invest in badly needed improvements.

Local campaigner and prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Wirral West, Cllr Peter Reisdorf, called for the rail improvement in Wirral after business regulator, the Competition Commission, said the Government should allow train companies to have longer periods of time to run services.

"Currently, train companies are given franchises averaging seven years to run services," said Cllr Reisdorf. "This is too short and means companies will not make long term investment decisions. This needs to change by increasing the length of time a company can operate, subject to the company reaching performance targets.

"Liberal Democrats in Parliament have been calling for this for some time and I hope that the Labour Government can be persuaded to follow our call. Locally, Liberal Democrats on Merseyside's Transport Authority called for the franchises to be for 25 years to allow for a proper partnership to develop and giving operators the time to refurbish or renew rolling stock.

Electrification of the Bidston to Wrexham line would give people in central Wirral communities such as Upton and Woodchurch much better access not only to Liverpool, but also to the job opportunities in the North Wales industrial areas."