Derbyshire Green Party is incredibly concerned by East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) decision to suspend the Matlock-Nottingham rail link. This route is an essential link for the many local people whom rely on this route for work and leisure. It is incredibly disappointing to see such a decision being made.
Not only does the cutting of this service show EMR’s total disregard for local people but also a total lack of consideration for the environmental issues which engulf our society. We are in the midst of a climate crisis and public transport has a crucial role to play in getting us out of it. Apparently EMR does not recognise that.
Public transport in Derbyshire has been left to rot to by consecutive Conservative administrations, locally and nationally, and the corporations intent on making millions out of commuters. The relentless privatisation of basic services, and sheer lack of funding for those which remain in public hands, is driving our communities into the ground. Despite the incessant repetition of the phrase ‘levelling up’ by the Conservatives, many of our communities, and the people within them, are in ever-worsening economic circumstances. The wealthiest regions of this country, many coincidentally represented by high ranking Conservative politicians, have so far been allocated 10 times more money than the poorest.[1] Whilst Derbyshire missed out on a £2.8 million grant aimed at improving bus services in rural areas of the East Midlands. Yet again we are being ignored and forced to survive with the bare minimum.
In Derbyshire public transport is under attack. We will no longer benefit from the high speed rail link which was originally proposed to come through Derbyshire, whilst over 40 of EMR’s rail services have been halted and even more routes have been cut from our bus services. This includes the recent scrapping of Trent bus services from Derby City into Derbyshire. All of this despite promises not to.
EMR’s decision to scrap the Matlock-Nottingham rail link has rightly infuriated commuters as it now forces passengers to travel for twice as long and make a change in Derby. A single journey between the two destinations has increased from 45 minutes to nearly 2 hours.
Frank Adlington-Stringer, a Derbyshire Green Party candidate, said, “The cancellation of this route is a travesty for local people. Over the last few years I have relied on this service when travelling to visit family in Matlock from my university home in Nottingham; today I simply wouldn’t be able to make that journey. It connected my worlds. By halting this service EMR are severing a crucial link and are further isolating those of us living in rural part of Derbyshire.”
He continued reiterating Derbyshire Green Party’s demands that the service be reinstated. “It is simply unacceptable that public transport is out of public hands. Routes like these, which are crucial for local people, are too often ignored and allowed to deteriorate, not because they aren’t important to commuters but because they aren’t making enough profit for companies. To me, that is intolerable. It is my view, and that of Derbyshire Green Party, that this route be reinstated immediately, and that EMR quickly reconsiders its approach towards our communities.”
Derbyshire Green Party stands with and supports the nearly 10,000 individuals who have signed the petition calling for this service to be resumed.
[1] The Guardian, 2nd February 2022 – www.theguardian.com/inequality/2022/feb/02/levelling-up-funding-inequality-exposed-by-guardian-research