Boris’s Rail Comments Criticised

KALEEM Saeed, Labour?s Candidate for Henley for the coming General Election, criticised, has criticised Boris Johnson?s recent comments on the Community Rail Partnership proposed by the Strategic Rail Authority for the Henley-Twyford line. Johnson’s accusations that the SRA is treating the line as if it were ‘rural’ and that the reference to sustainability conceals a threat to cut the line, said Kaleem, “are alarmist and show his failure to study the proposals.”

Kaleem states that ?If he had visited the SRA website (www.sra.gov.uk/passengers/community), Boris would have seen that the proposals refer to ‘local and rural lines’ and that a very substantial number of the 56 lines included are branch lines used by commuters. The reason for their inclusion is based not on a financial analysis – which has not yet been made – but on their value to a well-defined community and on the specialised nature of their traffic. They therefore have both the ability and the opportunity to profit from flexibility, without implications for the rest of the rail network. The Henley-Twyford line is undoubtedly well placed on both these counts, and the proposals are not a threat but an opportunity.

“This is another example of how Boris has failed to spend time understanding the key issues which effect his Henley constituency and its people. Clearly his other commitments prevent him from doing this and have clouded his judgement.”