THE FIRST meeting of the Droitwich Rail User Action Group was held at the Community Hall last night.
A total of 12 people attended the get-together where a variety of issues relating to the railways and services were discussed, including cancellations and short-form trains which leads to overcrowding as there are not enough carriages to cope with passenger demand.
Some services, at certain times of day, were earmarked for being busier than others.
Addressing the crowd were Coun Alan Humphries, who organised the meeting, Neil Pyper who commutes from Droitwich to Coventry on a daily basis and Tony Woodward from Bromsgrove Rail User Group (BRUG).
Coun Humphries said: “If the situation is left as it is, it won’t get any better, it will get worse.
He said it was important rail operators realised what was happening on the ground.
“I had a meeting with a representative from (previous operator) London Midland last year and they had no idea about the extra number of people moving here in the next five years and the extra pressure on services that would bring.”
Mr Woodward spoke about what BRUG had achieved since launching in 2006, including the new Bromsgrove Station and improved services.
He also told those gathered about the three different titles – rail user group, rail promotion group and community rail partnerships.
The first two groups campaign for better rail services and the latter is more to do with adopting stations. Setting one of those up enables groups to gain access to funding to bring about station improvement projects, such as planting flowers and adding more seating.
He urged people to also ‘look at the wider picture’ such as services, the 18 stations across Worcestershire and beyond.
Creating a rail user action group will give the town ‘a seat at the table’ with other organisations, such as the Department of Transport, Network Rail and the combined authority which oversees the Midlands rail network.
Representatives from operator West Midlands Trains and Network Rail could be invited to future meetings so issues can be discussed with them.
One resident suggested making it a ‘public transport’ group and including buses as some bus services in the town were ‘woefully inadequate’.
Coun Bob Brookes, who is a town, district and county councillor, had allocated some funds to help set up the group and pay for a website.
Coun Humphries will now go away and prepare a report, along with keep residents up-to-date about future meetings.
He said: “I think it went well. Tony Woodward was very informative and we have learnt a lot about setting up the group, as well as the wider picture we should be looking at.”
Several other people, who could not make the meeting, had sent apologies and expressed an interest in being part of the group.
There were also discussions about relaying the views and findings of the Droitwich Spa Rail User Action Group to the transport section of the town’s Neighbourhood Plan group.
