IS it only a matter of time before we lose our local train service entirely?

On Wednesday evening I was due to travel home to Marsden on the 21:32 Northern train service from Huddersfield, but it was cancelled “due to staff shortages in Manchester”.

I went to the station office to ask for help, and the helpful supervisor phoned Northern to ask them to authorise a taxi. But Northern refused; and when I asked to speak directly to them to explain why I urgently needed to get home on time, their officer also refused to speak to me, relaying the message that they would “only speak to staff”.

But Trans Pennine came to my rescue. The station supervisor quickly called his controller, who agreed that the next express train could additionally call at Marsden to drop me off!

Thank you to Stephen and his colleague for their kindness and helpfulness. What a contrast to Northern’s unhelpfulness, rudeness and poor service!

It’s not the first time Northern have cancelled this 21:32 service. It doesn’t usually have many passengers, and I can only assume they don’t think it’s worth the effort.

What’s more, their staff regularly fail to collect fares on the route between Marsden and Huddersfield: each morning they leave Trans Pennine staff to do their work selling tickets, and make queuing customers late for work, and they must lose hundreds of pounds of revenue every day.

They clearly don’t value local passengers at all, and I am tempted to think they have given up on the service entirely. We desperately need to find a train operating company that can actually be bothered to provide a good local service. Before it’s too late.

Fiona Weir

Marsden

Need for extra trains

THE main railway line passing through Huddersfield may be the most intensively used major diesel-only route not serving London.

Four ‘fast’ Transpennine Express trains per hour run alongside two stopping trains from Leeds to Huddersfield and two others from Huddersfield to Manchester. In total, six each way.

Even though TPE has seen a new fleet with an increase in capacity to 3 cars per train generally, the trains are struggling to cope with demand.

But no more diesel trains should be ordered at all for Britain. Oil prices may rise again, and diesel trains would become too expensive to operate in the coming decades. TPE’s diesel trains will probably last another 35 years.

Rather than lengthening the diesel trains, I think that the North Transpennine railway line needs to be electrified and get a new fleet of electric trains that have more than three carriages. And there should be more electric trains ordered from the start than the number of trains using the line, just in case demand rises.

So I submitted a petition on the online site of 10 Downing Street. It is available to sign at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/north-tpe/

Electric trains would have better acceleration than all of the diesels, would be quieter and not produce pollution at point of use, and are more efficient and easier to maintain than diesel trains. They would have a ‘sparks effect’ – many more potential users will be attracted.

To electrify from York to Liverpool would be 90 miles. It has a far stronger immediate case than electrifying other main lines such as cross country, which are much longer.

TPE’s diesel trains would be cascaded and run on other lines instead. This would increase capacity over the whole network, or allow some of the worst carriages in Britain to be scrapped.

All over Britain, there is a need for extra trains. This petition is not just relevant to people using Transpennine Express but it is relevant to all rail users and potential rail users in the North of England so that there is more chance of getting a seat and having better quality trains.

Ben Hughes

Studying at Sheffield Hallam University

TV ‘fly on wall’ showed real issues

WHAT a negative letter (Mailbag November 28) about a BBC programme (featuring Peters) that for once in my lifetime had at least attempted to devote time and effort into screening an honest, longstanding Huddersfield company.

It is easy to jump on the bandwagon and criticise the BBC recently after the immaturity shown by their £6m stars but let’s not forget that nobody who entertained us in this one hour episode was paid anything.

I’m sure most would agree it was fascinating TV, interesting from a business survival perspective and made a few of us from Yorkshire laugh at the humour, especially from our older folk.

However I can’t argue with the point the letter made that the producer seemed to have an agenda that didn’t include showing how Peters store had been transformed. Showing Peters had attracted the younger shoppers now buying into the modern and aspiring brands and the many young families that clearly enjoy the freshly made wholesome food from the new chef in the Coffee Mill would have made fairer viewing.

But I assume this is the rough and cut if you sign up to something allowing producers editorial control when your life and business is exposed for a year.

It was clearly not staged managed to promote Peters and independent stores so we should give the BBC and for that matter the store directors credit for that. Surely fly on the wall, warts and all filming has to show real life issues if it is to show the real difficulties of running a business? For this independent store to survive is important for all Huddersfield folk in this ubiquitous shopping mall era.

More than ever small family run companies need our support and help. Let’s help Peters and every other local entrepreneur that enrich our lives with their effort and individuality.

Where else in the town can you enjoy such a good roast beef special for under a fiver? Perhaps it is right, all PR is good PR.

Judging by the comments in my local pub last night the feeling was the programme was both funny and serious and there was heart-felt emotion to boot so it did manage to cover some important bases.

I hope most from Huddersfield would have felt something for David and Caroline Whittle and the town so let’s get positive and show we care for our local shop keeper or we will only have Tesco to complain about.

Jon Smith

Newsome

Keep Tesco out of Holmfirth

TESCO’S plan to invade Holmfirth WILL go ahead in spite of this letter and others like it.

Planning permission WILL be granted because councils cannot/have not the will, to say no. But Tesco should be denied because Holmfirth has all the retail facilities it needs in its independent outlets (lifeblood of the nation), its supermarket with green credentials, and its Farmers Market with its true, not bogus, local produce.

A hugeTesco in Holmfirth would be out-of-scale in these surroundings, causing traffic congestion, destroying jobs not creating them, upsetting the balance here.

John Hummerstone

Denby Dale

What happened to the lights?

MY wife and I moved to Netherthong about two and a half years ago and find the shops and people of Holmfirth great. It is a good local town centre. I have always said it has the makings of another Hebden Bridge.

We always attend as many local events as possible and are pleased to see so many visitors to the town.

We were there for the Christmas lights turn on as we were last year. It was cold but was better attended than last year’s rain-hit event. We were shocked to see inconsiderate motorists speeding on Hollowgate within feet of children waiting at Santa’s grotto, and wondered if there should have been a temporary road closure as for other events.

But never the less we made our way to the grand lights turn-on. There was a very large crowd waiting and one woman said to us that she had brought her grand children “just to see Bart Simpson”. We waited for the big moment, and were able to see the good light display on Norridge Bottom (a credit to the businesses there).

We joined in all the banter with the DJ. and the big moment came – “the big turn off.” One father by us said to his little boy “look there’s a light on that lamp post”. Lots of people mumbled and walked away.

Why were there no lights on the Christmas tree? Where was Bart? Will these visitors ever return? Who knows? I don’t think a lot of them will. Sorry to be Mr Grumpy but a fine polish is required before we reach a Hebden Bridge standard and keep those visitors.

Keith Reynolds

Netherthong

Stop political games with schools

SO where is your schools plan Mrs Pinnock? The Kirklees Council deadline for responses was November 14 and you still haven’t submitted one. You are not alone, as neither have your friends the Labour councillors. Is this right then that neither the Liberal Democrats nor the Labour Group has an alternative plan or is it that they dare not reveal them?

I find this a disgrace. They say so much in criticism of others but when the time comes they have no plans themselves.

So come on you Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors tell us what your plans really are!

Are you in favour of closing Castle Hall School or not and if not is it true you are planning to move it into Dewsbury? Are you going to scrap the Birkenshaw High School and force children from Birkenshaw, East Bierley, Birstall and Batley into one 2,500 pupil High School in Batley?

We the parents of North Kirklees want answers; you are playing political games with our children’s futures. You claim to have better ideas, tell us what they are!

Lisa Holmes

East Bierley Parent