Theresa May has welcomed an announcement from the Government that additional capacity will be provided on First Great Western (FGW) train services between London Paddington and Maidenhead and Twyford. The Government has announced the provision of 48 additional carriages, meaning that Thames Valley passengers will benefit from nearly 4,500 additional seats each day on peak services.
The announcement comes as a result of a Government funding agreement with FGW that will help tackle capacity issues in the Thames Valley, which features some of the UK’s busiest rail routes. The extra carriages are planned to come into service in time for the 2012 Olympic Games and will be deployed on morning and evening peak services. The total cost of providing these services will be £28.9 million up to 2013.
Commenting, Theresa said: “The provision of extra carriages is excellent news for Maidenhead and Twyford commuters. It means more seats on peak morning and evening services and will be a major boost to the service. Thames Valley rail services are among the busiest in the country and there is a clear need for additional capacity to ease overcrowding on the trains. I congratulate FGW and the Government on this agreement, and I hope that it is only the beginning of the action that will be taken to improve train services on this line.”
The Minister for Transport, Theresa Villiers, said: “Adding carriages to some of the busiest routes in the country is a key part of the major programme of rail capacity expansion which we have promised to deliver. This is a vital way to respond to passenger concerns about crowding and provides important support for economic growth.”
