Railway Users face Highway Robbery

Every day hundreds commute by train from Tring and beyond, paying over £4,000 a year for the privilege. But with recent cancellations and poor service it's just not value for money! Recent performance figures have put London Midland right down at the bottom of the UK rail operator league table.

Now things have been made worse by changes to parking charges. Parking used to be free after 4.00 pm, with Saturdays at a reduced rate and Sunday completely free.

Not any more. London Midland's car park operators, Meteor, now charge the full £5.50 for Saturday and £2.50 for Sunday, but only to 4.00 am the following day - blocking overnight parking. Meteor is a fully-owned subsidiary of Govia Group plc, a major player in the London Midland consortium.

Nick Hollinghurst, Lib Dem campaigner and County Councillor for Tring & the Villages says, "It's a rip-off! The trains are dear enough - now this puts paid to weekend family travel, overnight trips to London and discourages Sunday rail use. It's all wrong - they're forcing people back into cars!"

He adds, "Herts County Council and the other councils along the route are in a Quality Rail Partnership with London Midland. The Liberal Democrats will use the partnership to get better services, value for money from London Midland - and cheaper car parking!"