1000 Miles of Rail Routes to be Replaced by Buses This Bank Holiday

5.54.57pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 26th Aug 2009

Norman Baker MP slams the impending train chaos

More than 1,000 miles of rail routes will be replaced by buses over the August Bank Holiday weekend (28th-31st), analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found.

The Ladywood ward contains Birmingham New Street and Snow Hill stations. Local campaigner David Nikel said "It is outrageous that there are so many bus replacements for the Bank Holiday when so many people are trying to travel to see friends, families and take holidays. In the West Midlands Birmingham New Street to Walsall, Birmingham International to Milton Keynes Central, Shrewsbury to Wrexham, Coventry to Northampton, Kidderminster to Droitwich Spa and Rugby to Kettering lines are affected. I would advise travellers to check before booking."

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said "Spending hours in a hot bus is not the way most of us want to spend our Bank Holiday but with miles of rail replacement buses planned yet again, it's going to be hard to avoid. Passengers who have paid for a rail journey have the right to expect to travel by train. Train companies that force passengers to travel part of the journey by bus should give them a substantial rebate on the cost of their ticket."