Manchester Recovery Task Force Public Consultation
Introduction
The Department for Transport, Network Rail and Transport for the North are conducting a public consultation seeking views from the public and stakeholders on rail timetable work that has been undertaken during 2020 to address the poor performance of the rail network in the Manchester area which has been the source of much train delay on rail services across the whole North of England since late 2017.
The consultation will inform decisions to be made in Spring 2021 on potential changes to the passenger timetable that will be implemented from May 2022.
The consultation document sets out the objectives of the work.
The deadline for responding to the consultation is midnight on Wednesday 10 March 2021.
Further details and the full Manchester Recovery Task Force Consultation document can be accessed on the Government website via the following link:
Timetable options to improve rail performance in the north of England – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
All members of the community are encouraged to look at the consultation document and respond by the deadline.
If you agree with the decision of Mossley Town Council which is set out below, you may wish to respond stating that you agree with the Town Council’s decision.
Consultation description
3 options are under consideration, aimed at improving train performance in the Manchester area and north of England by:
- simplifying and spacing service patterns more evenly;
- reducing the number of services running on the most congested part of the network; and
- separating train movements as far as possible to minimise the amount of delay one train may cause on another.
The options change the routing and frequency of some existing journeys.
Views are being sought on:
- the principles followed in developing the options;
- the details of the options, which are provided in the consultation document; and
- how any proposed changes may affect your
Views of Mossley Town Council
The consultation was considered at the meeting of Mossley Town Council on 24 February 2021. The Town Council has adopted the following resolution:
Mossley Town Council:
- supports the aim of standardising and simplifying service patterns in order to significantly improve overall train performance;
- supports the approach of measuring the service level and performance impacts across all passengers to allow fair trade-offs between options; and
- favours option C on the grounds that this option:
- provides the enhanced level of service that residents and visitors in Mossley require in order to access jobs, education, services and leisure facilities;
- provides opportunities for enhanced connections and journey opportunities;
- offers a sustainable transport solution to achieve sustainable economic growth and opportunities for Mossley and the wider region; and
- is justified by the (pre-Covid 19) levels of passenger usage at Mossley Station which already far exceeds the threshold by which Transport for Greater Manchester would consider a half-hour interval service is warranted.
Ways to respond
Responses to the consultation can be submitted by Email to
performancerecoverytaskforce@dft.gov.uk
or in writing to:
MRTF Consultation,
3rd floor,
Department for Transport,
Great Minster House,
33, Horseferry Road,
London,
SW1P 4DR