Rail chaos threat to Mathew Street

Aug 5 2008 Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

CHAOTIC rail engineering plans are threatening the success of key Capital of Culture events in Liverpool over the next month, the Daily Post can reveal.

Network Rail has failed to provide train operator Virgin with advance engineering schedules, leaving people unable to book “advance purchase” tickets between Liverpool and London.

The disruption this will cause to major events such as Mathew Street festival, the World Fire- fighter Games and La Machine extravaganza has been branded a “disgrace”. Deputy leader of Liverpool City Council Flo Clucas said: “They’re not just little local fetes – all are world events and people are going to want to come and see them. It’s a disgrace. This has been in the planning for years.

“This has been Europe’s best Capital of Culture. But that has been despite the impact of Net- work Rail, which has blighted the rail links to the city all year.”

Works on the West Coast line have caused problems during the year, but the August Bank Holiday weekend looks likely to be the hardest hit.

People buying full fare tickets between London and Liverpool on the Bank Holiday Saturday and Sunday, August 23 and 24, will be in for a five-hour journey which involves two changes and a bus ride. Visitors who makehave made it to the Bank Holiday Monday shows will have to leave gigs by 4.30pm to endure a journey home that could last up to six hours.

Direct travel has already been suspended on Sundays between the capital and Liverpool. And it is still unclear precisely what is planned on which days on the West Coast line, according to Capital of Culture partners Virgin.

What is known is that, between Bank Holiday Monday and September 5, improvement works are planned along the line.

Virgin spokesman Glynn Mc- Donald said: “We haven’t known in advance what work is being carried out on a specific day.

“Advance booking is not available because these tickets work to encourage people to use other trains across the network to distribute the load.

“Until we get the advance notice, we cannot do anything.”

Until this latest situation, Virgin Trains has been running advance ticket discounts throughout the summer to encourage people to Liverpool.

Maresa Molloy, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce’s head of policy and information, added: “Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Virgin Rail unsuccessfully lobbied for the moving of the West Coast Mainline upgrade to 2009, in order to maximise national and international visits to Liverpool during Capital of Culture year.

“With many major attractions such as the Mathew Street Festival and the Klimt exhibition at Tate Gallery Liverpool, among the highlights flagged up nationally during the summer peak time, there is certain to be an impact on visitor numbers due to the disruption to the main rail link to the capital.

“Our worry is most leisure visitors will not be aware of the situation until they purchase their tickets or embark on their journey. This will create a poor impression of the city’s connectivity, particular to the lucrative South East market of both UK residents and international tourists, flying into London airports.”

Other business leaders have spoken out about the continued problems.

Frank McKenna, of Downtown Liverpool in Business, said: “We can say with absolute certainty that the disruption on our railways has had an impact on visitor numbers. We all accept the work needs to be done on the line but did it have to be done in the way Network Rail has gone about it?

“It is not beyond their means to look at something on the scale of the Mathew Street Festival and give Liverpool a helping hand.

“Liverpool is being treated as a second-class citizen, and there’s an awful lot of anger around the business community about this.

“Can you see Network Rail being allowed to behave in this manner around London, in time for the Olympics in 2012? I don’t think so.”

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