AN MP claimed the county council's lack of ambition is holding back a railway station in Worcestershire from becoming better.
Dame Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, said the bar needs to be raised to allow more services and a greater capacity at Worcestershire Parkway train station.
The railway station, which is already working above the projections set five years ago, has come under fire in recent months over the need to expand its car park.
RECCOMENDED READING
- Anger over car parking charges increase at Worcestershire Parkway
- First direct train services from Worcestershire Parkway to Scotland launches
- Is it cheaper to take new Worcestershire Parkway train to Scotland or fly?
An application has been submitted to add the new Lumo train service to the network within three years.
But, Dame Baldwin said more car parking spaces are needed alongside the arrival of more services.
"Worcestershire Parkway station is a great county asset which is performing well ahead of projections," she said.
"The only thing holding it back is the lack of ambition at County Hall and I’ve called for a higher level of ambition to deliver the best possible rail services for county commuters.
“Latest figures show that usage at Worcestershire Parkway has shot up, even though it opened up in the pandemic and it clearly is a station which people are using well and would use much more if only they could.
“I’m happy to back any plan to add more services to the station but this must go hand-in-hand with more car park capacity.
"It’s time for Worcestershire County Council to step up and take the strategic decision to help more people to choose the train to travel to and from our popular new station.”
Worcestershire County Council said it is re-evaluating passenger data in the New Year, and this will be able to help it provide further parking for the station.
Councillor Karl Perks, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport, said: “Harriet Baldwin MP is quite right, Worcestershire Parkway is far exceeding the expectations that were set out in the business case.
"It is currently operating at the equivalent of year 13 of its business case, even though it is only five years since the station opened.
“We are aware that the car park is operating near capacity on some days, particularly mid-week.
"We are going to be re-evaluating passenger data in the New Year, looking at how many travel from and to the station and from where.
"We will then use this data to further refine all currently available options to us for providing further parking at the station.”
Share