Burton Joyce residents and local councillors gathered at the rail station this morning as part of a campaign calling for more services.
The villagers were on the platform to welcome the return of the vital 7.59am service – which was axed in May of this year when an emergency timetable was introduced on the Nottingham to Lincoln line, which serves Burton Joyce.
They are now calling for a much-improved level of services throughout the day for Burton Joyce which has been neglected and marginalised over the last decade. With major road, residential and retail development taking place nearby there is an imperative to mitigate consequent transport and community pressures.
Laurence King, chair of Burton Joyce Parish Council said “ There is an urgent need to to provide regular train services throughout the day for our community.
“Villages such as ours need a timetable that provides connectivity for people and promotes use of public transport to assist the environment, reduce vehicle use and congestion.
“Consideration of any new timetable must include more of the trains that are actually passing through our station stopping here, for the social, leisure and economic wellbeing that brings”.
Chris Helmore, of The Friends of Lowdham and Burton Joyce Stations, sayid “ The recent discovery that there has been a strategy board in existence for over a decade that discusses and influences services on the line without any reference to Burton Joyce residents has left many feeling deeply concerned”
He adds “Lowdham, the next village on the line has over twice as many stopping services and yet has a slightly smaller population, there is no reason for such a disparity”.
The campaign is fully supported by local MP Tom Randall and the village’s Borough and County councillors Sam Smith and Mike Adams.
They said “We’re delighted that the 07:59 train from Burton Joyce to Nottingham is back on the track from Monday 13 December, helping residents travel to work and into the city in an environmentally friendly way.
They continue “More must be done, however, to improve the train service in Burton Joyce and to match these to the needs of residents. Working together, we have met with East Midlands Rail and will continue to lobby them and the Department for Transport for an improved timetable which can be delivered simply by increasing the number of trains that stop at our station based on those services that are currently passing through.”
Parish council chairman Mr King added: “Local stations are crucial infrastructure that must utilised. This will be an ongoing campaign to obtain a useable and attractive timetable, which by definition will then attract people to use trains.
“Improved services will have a hugely positive impact, not just for Burton Joyce but for the wider city of Nottingham.”
