Watford MP Richard Harrington has welcomed the Department for Transport plans for the HS2 rail project and the extra capacity and increased services in will bring to Watford.
During a statement in the House of Commons yesterday Richard Harrington asked the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin what impact the important rail project will have on train services in Watford in light of problems of poor capacity and poor services Watford commuters experience from London Midland currently.
Mr McLoughlin confirmed that increasing capacity was one of the fundamental reasons why the building of HS2 was necessary and that freeing up of capacity will allow more services from areas such as Watford.
Lack of capacity has been a real problem for train services in Watford, with limited services and over-crowded trains and increase capacity and services through Watford Junction will be very welcome to commuters.
Rail travel is very important in Watford with around 50% of all working people commuting in and out of Watford on a regular basis. Services have been very strained in recent months following problems with services from London Midland which has seen regular cancellations and delays.
In response to these problems Richard Harrington has set up a petition against the service provided by London Midland which can be found here: http://www.richardharrington.org.uk/not-fare Over 1000 people have already signed the petition which will be presented to Patrick McLoughlin. In the meantime Richard and other MPs have ensured that these problems are a top priority for the Department for Transport who monitor these services on a regular basis.
Following his question yesterday Richard said:
“HS2 will bring a great boost to the cities that will see new stations, but it will also make a big difference to the train network across the UK and in Watford.
“It is astonishing that there has been no significant new railways built north of London in over 120 years and the existing network running in and out of Watford Junction is hampered by very old tracks and stations.
“Increased capacity is very welcome news and an increase in services through Watford can only be a good thing. This coupled with the new Croxley Rail Link will cement Watford’s reputation and aptitude as a vital transport hub.”