Let's get county back on the rails (From Western Telegraph)

Let's get county back on the rails

POOR TRANSPORT links isolating Pembrokeshire's economy from the rest of Britain could be improved by the demise of the company running its rail network.

While dozens of Railtrack staff based in Pembrokeshire anxiously await news of their fate, transport campaigners predict better rail services in the region.

On Sunday night, a High Court judge granted an order placing Railtrack into administration after the Government refused to bail it out to the tune of £700 million.

The train service west of Carmarthen has hung in the balance since privatisation in the mid-1990s because its future was not guaranteed by inclusion in the Public Service Requirement.

Preseli MP Jackie Lawrence, who travels weekly by train to her office in London, views the court ruling as an opportunity for Pembrokeshire to enjoy better transport links.

I have long argued that instead of the Government handing over more and more money to Railtrack it should use this money to buy back strategic control of this company," she says.

'I view it as realistic and very positive that the Government should have control of the rail system again."

Mrs Lawrence describes the current service as abysmal. She travels weekly on the train because of her belief in public transport. But her husband has to drive to Port Talbot to meet her off the train because of the absence of a late night through-train.

The North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum has long campaigned for better rail services.

It points to the findings of the Fishguard and Goodwick community appraisal. Respondents viewed isolation and poor transport as their chief dislikes of living in Pembrokeshire.

Forum secretary Hattie Woakes says the Governments decision can only have a positive impact on local rail services. It is very good news. Its an indication that the Government is serious about ensuring the delivery of improved transport," she says.