'Rail at the heart of a green transport strategy'

Do you know you can go to London by train from Westbury in both directions?

With a unique choice of Paddington in the west and Waterloo in the centre.

Go by train in about an hour-and-a-half, with no nuisance of your car in London.

Westbury railway station is also ideal to be a parkway, to realise its potential.

The parkway concept is that people use their cars or buses for short journeys
to local main-line railway stations having large parking areas and coach pick-up, charged for in the price of an inclusive rail fare.    Westbury is on two main lines.

The train station is at the edge of Westbury and has sufficient spare land around.

It needs an unrestricted access road from outside of the town, from the west.

Our Westbury MP Andrew Murrison is on record as preferring a western road.

He has lobbied for years for the direct Westbury to Waterloo train service.

He supports improving the service from Westbury via Melksham to Swindon.

Dr Andrew Murrison says that if we are to meet our international obligations on climate change we need to put rail at the heart of a green transport strategy.

Government figures forecast a 30% growth in rail passenger miles by 2016.

Andrew Murrison has joined the Campaign for Better Transport's Sardine Man and Jenny Agutter to tackle railway overcrowding - and the rest, we hope.

Jenny Agutter of the Campaign explains that rail use by passengers and freight is now at its highest level since the 1950s and is still rising.   This is great news.

The Government has now issued a big funding strategy for growing the railways.

Jenny knows that it is not enough to put on extra rolling-stock and carriages etc.

There have to be more facilities for more people, as a sustainable financial case.

For it to be really used to resolve problems, the railway requires good access.

A western access road is the Westbury solution which would serve all needs.