"Deep concern" raised about Hungerford to London rail services

At a meeting of the full town council, members expressed disappointment that electrification of the rail service will stop at Newbury.
But matters have been made worse, the meeting heard, by amendments to the terms of the Invitation To tender (ITT).
Mr Crane said: “Initially there was every indication that the direct Bedwyn to London service would continue by using a bio-mode, or dual fuel, unit. However the change to the terms of the ITT removes the obligation to provide a direct service - which throws up a number of alarming scenarios each of which would lead to an immediate downgrading of the rail links between Bedwyn, Hungerford, Kintbury and London.
“The clear favourite of the franchisees seems to be to run a shuttle service between Bedwyn and Newbury and then electric trains into London. Apart from the inconvenience of such a service and the added time to journeys, the existing diesel units are based in Reading where they are serviced and refueled.
“They would need to be brought from Reading to Bedwyn to run up and down all day with crews that could otherwise be used on the electric service. Even from a cursory look at such an arrangement, the service would not be economic and thus over time vulnerable to closure. Using the existing high speed trains for the service is equally uneconomic as they are notoriously inefficient for stop, start service.”
The meeting heard that Hungerford Town Council was joining forces with Bedwyn and Kintbury parish councils and Mr Crane said: “Following a meeting with representatives of our three councils, we’re launching a major campaign to have the current plans for electrification extended beyond Newbury to the current terminus of Bedwyn and thus capture the full economic and environmental benefits that accrue with such a change.
“Accordingly I have written to the Minister for Transport, Simon Burns MP, as have the parishes of Bedwyn and Kintbury, with copies to our respective MPs, West Berkshire Council and Wiltshire County Council officials to alert all concerned that the residents are deeply concerned about this potential loss of service and require the Department for Transport to review both the terms of the ITT and their plans for electrification so as to extend it to Bedwyn in this first phase of electrification of the West Country route.”
The new franchise starts from July 2013 and the ITT indicates that electric services to Newbury will commence from December 2016.
The electrification of the rail line between London and South Wales will mean faster travel times for rail passengers using that route.
However electrification of the line will stop at Newbury, and rail users on the Berks and Hants Line, on which the Bedwyn-to-Paddington trains run, fear a reduction of services at Hungerford, Kintbury and Bedwyn.
Campaigners also fear the lack of ticket purchasing facilities at Bedwyn and Kintbury, coupled with the lack of onboard ticket sellers, would leave passengers obliged to queue at Newbury’s ticket office for their ticket, potentially resulting in missed connections.