Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Trains to be disrupted for longer

TRAINS will be disrupted from Dorridge until September after railways bosses failed to meet a deadline for major improvement works.

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Chiltern Railways hoped to completed its Chiltern Mainline scheme of track upgrades by May. This has meant a reduced timetable has hit Dorridge.

The firm said a review “highlighted a risk of overrunning engineering works in May if the works proceeded as planned”.

Yet disruptive work would take place in August instead of May so “there will be a normal service for most weekends during the summer months”.

The plans are aimed at allowing trains to run faster by adding new track and redesigning stations.

Click here to see how your journey will be affected.

Chiltern Railways Chairman Adrian Shooter CBE said, “We are obviously disappointed to be postponing the launch of the Chiltern Mainline but do believe it is the right decision for our passengers.”

Martin Lambert, vice chairman of Dorridge and District Residents Association, said: “We are having to put up at the moment with not the service we would normally have because of the amount of work that is happening further down the line.”

He said the 2010 collapse of contractor Jarvis had delayed work.

Speaking at the AGM of the group on Friday, he said: “For the size of the area we have a way above average train service. The downside is that people want to use the facility.”

This led to major parking problems, he said, though plans for a multi-storey car park at Solihull Station could relieve pressure.

One man told the meeting said: “It does seem to me that we are now suffering with the success of Chiltern Railways.”

Chairman Ian Spencer said a Sainsbury’s plan for the village could make the problem worse. The firm has said it could restrict parking to three hours.

He said: “At the moment we have a lot of cars parking behind Forest Court who aren’t being managed by [Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s parking department].

“Therefore, when Sainsbury’s or if Sainsbury’s comes along, those cars represent another amount of cars who want to use Dorridge Station who haven’t got somewhere to go.”

He said the DDRA had told Sainsbury’s that people are “unconvinced” about its parking proposals, for 173 spaces above the store compared to the current 91.

A long-mooted further deck of parking at the nearby overflow car park, behind the Total garage, was being discussed “more frequently” he said.

One man said: “You have got to do something about the double yellow lines. There are an awful lot of people who don’t want to pay.”

Dorridge and Hockley Heath councillor Andy Mackiewicz said a key problem is that station car parking is free and quickly fills while the overflow levies charges.

This pushes drivers onto the streets, he said.

Mr Spencer said: “It is not a question of putting in more car parking. It is about completely re-thinking the way the parking works.”

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