Gloucester MP has welcomed news that
Gloucester rail commuters to Bristol will benefit from 100 extra
seats on key GWR services.
Great Western Railway (GWR) has begun rolling out new three car
turbo trains onto many of their Gloucester to Bristol services to
replace the existing two car Class 150 trains on the route. This
will provide more capacity and greater comfort than the older
carriages and each train should provide about 110 more
seats.
Richard said: “The numbers of passengers using trains from
Gloucester has increased much faster than the national average,
the number of commuters to Bristol is up, and the current service
is inadequate and very crowded at peak times. So I’ve been
working with GWR on what more can be done and this is a welcome
improvement. But there is more to be done and longer term GWR and
I share an ambition for a significant additional number of
services.”
GWR Regional Development Manager Dan Okey said: “We
recognise that our Bristol and area commuter services are in
demand, and we have been working hard to provide the additional
capacity we know our customers want to see. These newer trains,
with more capacity and better on board facilities, will bring a
significant change in passenger experience – with further
improvements to come.”
ENDS
NOTE for Editors:
- Gloucester passenger growth was up 3.1% last year vs a
national average increase of only 0.4%
- There is an extra service from Gloucester to Bristol at 20.20
filling a previous two hour gap.
