Council Leader Welcomes Full Reinstatement Of Derwent Rail Service.
The reinstatement of a full seven days a week rail service from Matlock to Nottingham has been welcomed by Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis.
Councillor Lewis added his voice to the campaign to have the full service on the Derwent Valley Line reinstated after it was suspended by East Midlands Railway (EMR) as part of cutbacks to 43 services at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It briefly restarted again in May 2021 only to be cut back again shortly afterwards.
EMR blamed shortages of rolling stock, high levels of staff absence because of covid and operational issues for cutting the service.
The change to the service, which had been running since 2008, resulted in passengers travelling from Matlock to Nottingham having to change at Derby and seeing their journey times double as a result.
A petition calling for the service to be reinstated was launched in July 2021, gathering more than 10,000 signatures, with Councillor Lewis joining campaigners including Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire MPs, the Derwent Valley Community Rail Partnership (which is managed by Derbyshire County Council) and The Friends of the Derwent Valley Line, to call for the return of the service to its pre-pandemic level.
Two well-attended public meetings were organised by Belper Town Council and the Derwent Valley Community Rail Partnership and Councillor Lewis met with EMR management at County Hall in Matlock urging them to listen and take action.
Councillor Lewis lobbied Government, writing to several rail ministers and Transport Secretaries in post since 2021, and in May last year he joined forces with Derby City Council Leader Councillor Chris Poulter to write to the then Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps, outlining the importance of the service to the area and calling for Mr Shapps to intervene to get it reinstated as soon as possible.
In May 2022 EMR reintroduced through services from Matlock to Nottingham again on Sundays and in December 2022 they introduced three morning and three evening peak time through services from Monday to Friday.
However, campaigners including Councillor Lewis, felt this did not go far enough and continued to call for a full reinstatement.
Today (8 Feb 2023) EMR has confirmed that all day through services seven days a week are due to resume this May when the timetable changes again.
Councillor Barry Lewis said: “I am extremely pleased to hear that EMR is to reinstate the full through service between Matlock and Nottingham as its withdrawal has had a major impact on the area, our residents, businesses and visitors, with a knock-on to the local economy and our tourism trade.
“The effect on people’s everyday lives, for example getting to work or to school and college has been significant and has really taken its toll.
“Thanks must go to the officers at the county council who have used their expertise and worked very hard on this to ensure a positive outcome.
“It’s to be welcomed that EMR has listened to the many thousands of people, groups and organisations, including Derbyshire County Council, who have called for this important service to be reinstated and it really can’t come soon enough.”
Local businesses have also welcomed the announcement.
Rupert Pugh, development director at Heights of Abraham in Matlock Bath said: “We are delighted and relieved to hear the news.
“The service from Matlock to Nottingham is of key importance to the local community and to us here at the Heights of Abraham.
“Train services really do help to reduce the number of cars on the road, especially as many Matlock Bath and Heights visitors do come from the Nottingham area.
“The May reinstatement coincides with special events planned here at the Heights, so it's great that we can now promote the train route alongside our events.”
Article by Derbyshire County Council
More News From Amber Valley Info
| Mobile speed camera locations in Derbyshire during May 2024 Derbyshire Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team (C.R.E.S.T) will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement read more | |
| Travel Survey Launched For Belper, Glossop And Ilkeston How do you get around town if you live in Belper, Glossop or Ilkeston? And what improvements do you think should be made to m read more | |
| Call Out for Hobby Horse Riders to Take Part in DCG Fundraiser for Brave Ex-Student Derby College Group (DCG) is staging a Hobby Horse Charity Event at Broomfield Hall for Libby Dod read more | |
| Unique stone cottage with a twist revealed at Derbyshire development A century old stone building that stands opposite woodland, has now been given a complete make-over in Derbyshir read more | |
| Opportunities To Provide Refreshments At Countryside Sites Are you looking for a business venture? Derbyshire County Council is looking for caterers to serve refreshments at several read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Cold Callers claiming to be working on behalf of Derbyshire County Council Policehave seen and increase in reports of 'cold callers' where people are claiming to be working on behal read more | |
| Subscriptions For Amber Valley Borough Councils 2024 Garden Waste Service Are Now Open The garden waste collection service is available to all residents in Amber Valley except for r read more | |
| Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley boosting the speed, performance and coverage of mobile services in the area. read more | |
| Trent Barton Buses - Extension Of The £2 Single Fare Cap Trent Barton Buses have confirmed their participation in the extension of the £2 single fare cap until the end o read more | |
| Crich Tramway Village Looking For An Engineering Manager The successful candidate for this post will have excellent management skills gained whilst working in a practical workshop e read more | |
