A NEARLY 5,000-strong signature petition against reductions to rail services across North East Lincolnshire has been handed in to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Grimsby Telegraph Editor Michelle Lalor met with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin in his London office to personally hand in the appeal.
Accompanied by Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers, who helped set up the meeting, Ms Lalor said that commuters were very passionate about saving the Cleethorpes to Manchester direct rail service.
She told Mr McLoughlin: "It's when services are threatened that people realise just how important and how much they value that service.
"So we're hoping we can show you the strength of feeling there is locally and that this will be at the back of your mind when making your decisions."
He insisted, however, that no decisions had yet been taken.
The Government's consultation process into the TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern franchises, which could see services cut if the proposals put forward by the DfT go ahead, ends August 18.
Speaking on behalf of Telegraph readers, Ms Lalor said: "We have an online petition which we launched about a month ago, and we have a petition in paper, and they are coming in at a rate of 150 a day."
Mr McLoughlin replied: "I hope these people writing in are using the trains.
"Part of the problem, I am told, is that they are not highly used."
But his Rail Minister, Claire Perry, who was also at the presentation, said that Northern Rail and TransPennine Express had "far exceeded the original expectation for passenger growth".
In a bid to reassure the Transport Secretary that those signing were travelling, Mr Vickers said: "Quite a lot of them I have collected in my weekly commute on the train."
He told Mr McLoughlin that the number of users had increased since TPE took over the franchise.
"It's a tribute to privatisation because in British Rail days we used to have a Doncaster service which was intermittent, slow and dirty," he said.
"And TPE have transformed and they have built up the patronage and Manchester is now our airport of choice for our part of the world."
Mr McLoughlin heard that the renewables sector – including companies like Siemens, Centrica and Res – and the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce fully backed the campaign to save local train services "for good business reasons".
The Telegraph said that Grimsby and Cleethorpes residents often felt "a little bit ignored".
Ms Lalor added: "Whatever we can do to make sure the service is saved and to try and promote that more with the rail companies involved, we will.
"At least, give it a stay of execution to let us see how that develops and how much the use will increase."
Mr McLoughlin replied: "The truth is we are spending a whole load of money on the Northern Hub and improving the east-west connectivity.
"One of the things we do when we assess these consultations is see what the train companies come back with and they will want to lift up patronage because, actually, they will make more money out of the franchise by increasing patronage."Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
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