Government should also withdraw National Express franchise for the Norwich line - April Pond

8.15.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Jul 2009

April is calling on the Government to scrap the National Express franchise for the Norwich line too

Lib Dem campaigner for Norwich North April Pond has today called for the Government to remove the National Express franchise for the Norwich line as well.

Last week April Pond launched a rail survey asking the views of local residents about the rail service. The survey is available on www.aprilpond.org.uk

April Pond will be writing to the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis with the results of the survey and asking him to withdraw the National Express franchise from the Norwich line.

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner April Pond said:

""This is clearly a company in crisis. The government needs to remove the franchise from the Norwich service too so that we can start to rebuild the reputation and quality of our train service in Norwich which has been failing us for sometime."

Commenting on the news that the East Coast rail service, run by National Express, is to go into temporary public ownership, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "National Express has proved itself incapable of running the East Coast service, now it must also hand back its East Anglia franchise.

"It must not be allowed to ditch its loss-making operation while continuing to milk profits from the pockets of commuters in Norwich and across East Anglia.

"We need a better deal for passengers in areas such as Norwich. There have been too many complaints from customers and too many unsatisfied staff.

"The rail franchise system must be overhauled. We need longer deals, requiring train companies to invest in the network and meet strict passenger satisfaction targets."

Related Link:

Take April Pond's rail survey.