a) Worcester’s 2 stations provide limited facilities, and present a poor image of a growing city of 90,000 people. Foregate Street’s position at the heart of the city provides major opportunities for commuter, shopper and tourist growth, whilst Shrub Hill should function as an InterCity station. Enhancement of its facilities, together with infrastructure improvements between Norton Junction and Droitwich, may encourage Virgin Trains to re-establish Worcester as part of the InterCity network between South-West England, the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland.
If Shrub Hill were not to be developed, fresh consideration should be given to building a Worcester Parkway at Norton, connecting with both the Cotswold Line and the South West - Birmingham InterCity route.
Failure to enhance Worcester’s long-term role within the National Rail Network is not an acceptable option.
b) Many Cotswold Line stations are wholly or partially inaccessible to those who are elderly, have disabilities, or families with young children in pushchairs.
It is unacceptable that at major city stations such as Hereford and Worcester Shrub Hill, people using wheelchairs have to be taken across the railway tracks themselves by staff to reach other platforms, whilst at smaller town stations, such as Evesham or Moreton-in-Marsh, limited opening hours preclude use altogether if the disabled traveller needs to change platforms. Low platforms, such as at Worcester Foregate Street, discourage elderly people and families from travelling when requiring a large step to get on and off trains.
The Train Operating Companies and Railtrack should develop coherent programmes to address the physical accessibility of stations.
c) The current inconsistency regarding the length of platforms should be resolved. It is illogical that trains may be allowed to stop at platforms shorter than the train where this has always occurred, via “Grandfather Rights,” and not at others which may be of the same length or longer, but previously had no service from longer trains. This restriction limits the viability and opportunities for development at many stations, (such as Hanborough where full length High Speed Trains cannot stop), and is not justified on safety grounds when comparing accident rates at short platformed stations and on the roads.
d) Railtrack and Rail Property Ltd. (the successor to the British Rail Property Board) should be subject to regulation in respect of disposal of non-operational railway land, to ensure that opportunities for future developments are not lost. This applies, for example, to the needs for car parking spaces at the line’s smaller stations, such as Hanborough, and to the use of the large amounts of land surrounding Worcester Shrub Hill.
e) The Cotswold Line Strategy should address the viability and costs of re-opening stations such as Chipping Campden and Malvern Wells, and providing new stations in Worcester’s suburban area.
.f) Coherent plans for the development of the Oxfordshire halts, Honeybourne, Pershore and Colwall should form part of the Cotswold line Strategy.