Labour's Scarborough and Whitby candidate says she's written to the Transport Secretary over local train services.
Alison Hume, the Labour and Co-operative Party candidate for Scarborough and Whitby has written to the Transport Secretary Mark Harper, raising significant local concern over the withdrawal of the 06:30 am commuter train from Whitby to Middlesbrough.
Ms Hume told Mr Harper that outside of the region ‘this might appear a trifling matter – but to those trying to get from a rural or coastal area to a town where they work, the slashing of rail services can make the difference between having a job or being unemployable.’
She says Northern recently announced that the 04.56 Northern service between Middlesbrough and Whitby would be removed from the timetable along with the 06.30 return from Whitby and that the company say this is so they can ‘add capacity on the busier 10.19am service between the two towns’.
Ms Hume wrote in her letter to Mr Harper:
“These unwanted and unpopular changes prevent anyone from Whitby trying to reach their place of work for a 9am start,”
“This is completely unacceptable given the Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt asserting that the ‘default’ location for workers should be in the office unless there is a good reason to work from home. In this case the ‘good reason for working from home’ is because, unless you have a car, public transport cannot guarantee that you will get to work on time – or even before lunchtime.”
“Rural and coastal areas have been in decline for the last 13 years because of this Conservative government’s wilful disregard for meaningful ‘levelling up’ schemes - and the withdrawal of vital transport links is a contributory factor,”
The slashing of the timetables means it will not be possible to get a train from Whitby, to reach Newcastle or York until midday - or Leeds until the afternoon.
She has appealed to the Minister to request that Northern reinstates their services and ‘gives people, no matter how many there are that need this service, a fighting chance of getting to work during, what is, a devastating cost of living crisis that is beginning to bite hard in the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby.’
Labour Councillor Neil Swannick who represents Whitby Streonshalh on North Yorkshire Council added:
“Whitby is a beautiful place to live and work but it is geographically isolated by the sea and the North Yorkshire moors. It is very disappointing to hear that another of Whitby’s transport links to the outside world is under threat. The early morning train service connecting Whitby to Middlesbrough and all the villages along the Esk Valley, is a lifeline for workers and school students. I am asking Northern to reconsider its proposal and to work with stakeholders to increase passenger numbers.”
The government has recently taken over Northern's rival TransPennine Express, who operate services between Liverpool and Scarborough, following months of disruption to passengers.
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