Lib Dems Call For Doubling of Rail Lines to Four Track Between Broxbourne To Cheshunt (Saffron Walden Constituency Liberal Democrats)

Saffron Walden Constituency Liberal Democrats <info@saffronwaldenlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems Call For Doubling of Rail Lines to Four Track Between Broxbourne To Cheshunt

April 16, 2009 7:32 PM

Concourse and departure boards at Kings Cross rail station, north London. Liberal Democrats in Saffron Walden have renewed their call for the doubling of rail lines to four track between Broxbourne and Cheshunt to go ahead. The Lib Dems have backed proposals that will make it more likely that train companies will invest in badly-needed improvements.

Cllr Peter Wilcock, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, called for improvements on the Cambridge to London line, after the Competition Commission said that the Government should allow train companies to have longer contracts to run railway services.

"Currently, train companies are given franchises to run rail services which average seven years," said Peter Wilcock. "This is too short and means that companies will not make the long-term investment that rail passengers need. This short-termist culture needs to be changed by increasing the length of time that rail companies can operate a service - provided that the companies meet performance targets.

"Liberal Democrats in Parliament have been calling for this change for some time and I hope that the Labour Government can be persuaded to follow our call.

"It is clear that there are delays and congestion caused by the lack of capacity on this part on the line into London. More capacity is urgently needed."