Daniel Dieppe
An online petition calling to restore the railway service between Nottingham and Matlock has received over 20,000 signatures. Serving the popular tourist town in the Peak District, the line was cut from Nottingham in June 2021 to “improve” their services and make a more reliable railway during staff shortages, said operator East Midlands Railway. In December 2021, a new timetable confirmed the route was permanently suspended. Daniel Dieppe reports on the petition.
Some users have been forced to use cars
Campaigners have argued that the 45-minute “essential” train journey has more than doubled to two hours for the full-length ride due to a changeover at Derby, frustrating commuters and day-trippers alike.
They pointed out the apparent inconsistencies of high rail investment in HS2 and the commitment for Net Zero by 2050, despite failure to invest in smaller regional railways. Some users have been forced to use cars.
One rail user commented that the spontaneity to “just jump” on a direct train at Beeston and then go for walks in Derbyshire had been lost.
East Midlands railway said that it “is deeply disappointing for our customers and we are very sorry we are not able to reintroduce through services between Matlock and Nottingham at this time.”
“We are continuing to investigate other options which may help to mitigate the impact on customers and if they are viable we will share further information as soon as possible.”
Daniel Dieppe
Featured image courtesy of szczepan.lemanczyk via Flickr. Image license found here. No change were made to this image.
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