'Reinstating 8:02am Manchester train is priority' says Macclesfield MP
By Alex Greensmith
16th May 2022 | Local News
Macclesfield MP David Rutley has penned a letter to try and bring back a scrapped commuter train to Manchester.
As reported first by Macclesfield Nub News on May 6, the Avanti West Coast 8.02am service was scrapped from May 16 'due to staff shortages'.
Now, on the first day of the service's not running, Macclesfield's parliamentarian has called for an immediate return of the train.
The MP of 12 years called the service vital in an email sent from his team to Macclesfield Nub News, and has also sent a letter to decision-makers.
David Rutley, has written to Phil Whittingham, Managing Director of Avanti West Coast, asking for the service to re-instated as a priority.
Since the cancellation, David has received many complaints from local commuters relying on this peak service to get to their place of work in Manchester at the start of their working day. David has also seen the strong concerns raised on social media and in local news outlets, highlighting the inconvenience and disruption this will cause.
David has recently spoken to Mark Osborne, Regional Growth Manager at Avanti West Coast, to discuss the concerns of local passengers and to seek a replacement train service to be put into effect as soon as possible. During this meeting, David also raised his real disappointment in the poor level of communication from Avanti West Coast, regarding the changes in the timetable.
Mr Osborne confirmed that the removal of this service is temporary and that the 8:02am service will return in September. However, David has asked for local train service providers such as Avanti West Coast and Northern, to look at all possible options to urgently bring back this much valued train service before then.
David is now awaiting a formal response to his letter from Mr Whittingham and is also seeking a meeting with him to press for urgent action to be taken on the issues raised.
David said, "Many constituents are rightly concerned about the 8:02am service being cut, and it is very disappointing to see this peak time train being removed.
"Although temporary, the poor communication and the lack of a stand in service has left passengers facing real disruption to their commutes and working day.
"I have contacted Avanti West Coast's Managing Director to discuss this further and set out my strong support for bringing back the service and finding a replacement in the meantime."
After our previous piece revealing the news of the scrapped train, here's what Macclesfield Nub News readers had to say.
One male commented: "I'd say its more of a gain than loss as catching the next one you get an extra 15 minutes in bed. [However, this is not an Avanti West Coast service]."
But another replied that this was not a feasible option: "The 8:02 is the only fast pendilino train that gets people in to work before 9am - it's usually packed.
"The ones either side are 3 carriage Northern Trains stopper services and will be swamped."
Avanti West Coast responded with the following to a Macclesfield Nub News request for comment.
"We're in contact with David Rutley MP about the temporary withdrawal of the 08.02 Macclesfield to Manchester Piccadilly train to explain the rationale for this short-term change to our timetable because of staff shortages," a spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said.
"The train is planned to return in September and our timetable is subject to regular review in collaboration with stakeholders from Government, Network Rail, and industry partners."
Macclesfield: Have you been affected by the scrapped train? Join in with the conversation on our social media.
Macclesfield Railway Station is located on Waters Green, Cheshire, Macclesfield SK11 6JP. It has served our town since 1873.
See Also: Confusion at 8.02am Manchester to Macclesfield train scrapped
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