Sunday Trains Petition heads to Westminster

Congleton Town Councillors, Robert Douglas, Suzy Firkin, Heather Seddon and Kay Wesley along with local rail supporters Richard and Lisa Eadie formally handed over the Sunday Trains petition to Sarah Russell MP for presentation in Parliament this week.

The petition, which was started as the calendar ticked over one year since Sunday Trains stopped at Congleton Station, has received over 2000 signatures in its online and paper format.

Sarah Russell MP said:

“I am grateful to the progressive cross-party group of councillors, and the volunteers at Congleton Sustainable Travel, for gathering the signatures for this petition. I have been raising the problems with our train services both behind the scenes with ministers and in Parliament itself, ever since I was elected.”

The petition requests the House of Commons to urge the Department for Transport and the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, to require a Sunday train service for Congleton of a least six trains each way between Stoke and Manchester on a Sunday and to commit to a date when a sufficiently robust seven-day timetable will resume for Congleton.

A parliamentary petition of this type gives the sitting MP the chance to raise a specific issue in the House of Commons and gives weight to other requests for meetings with government ministers on the topic.

The call for action is also fully supported by Congleton Town Council who have initiated discussions with Northern Trains with a view to a face-to-face meeting in the New Year.

Cllr Suzy Firkin, who started the petition said:

“Congleton residents have made their frustration with the inadequate Sunday train service very clear, and we hope to keep the pressure on Northern Trains to improve these services. You can still sign the petition online, as it will continue to run until the situation is resolved. There is also a Congleton Train Users Facebook Group you may like to join where we will be sharing any updates.”

I am grateful to the progressive cross-party group of councillors, and the volunteers at Congleton Sustainable Travel, for gathering the signatures for this petition.”

Pictured: L-R - Lisa Eadie, Cllr Robert Douglas, Cllr Heather Seddon, Sarah Russell MP, Cllr Suzy Firkin, Cllr Kay Wesley and Richard Eadie.