IT is far from business as usual on the rails in Rugby.
So says Rugby Rail Users Group (RRUG), which while welcoming the return of an almost full service to the town’s station, warns it could be next year before a full normal service is resumed.
Virtually all trains in the Avanti West Coast timetable are now scheduled to run, after months of being severely cut back. The full morning and evening commuter service to/from London is planned to operate, with only the Rugby to/from Blackpool trains still cancelled.
But seat reservations and face-coverings are now compulsory, and the number of passengers allowed into each carriage is, according to Avanti, “significantly reduced” – which RRUG believes translates to around 20 per cent of seats.
RRUG says general advice from train companies remains they should be used for essential journeys only, and leisure travel was specifically discouraged.
At Rugby station, a one-way system is still in force for passengers, with entry to the station on the Murray Road (south) side, and exit on the north side, next to the sorting office, which RRUG say makes access more awkward and increases the possibility that commuters could miss their train.
RRUG chair Stephanie Clifford said: “Whilst it is good to see the Rugby train service returning to near-normal patterns on paper, no one should be under any illusion that it is back to pre-Covid levels. It’s a case of looks normal, but isn’t.
“With many commuters still working from home, the awkwardness of travel and the possibility of getting stranded in London or Birmingham, I do not expect to see a real return to normal until 2021 at the earliest.”
RRUG is concerned social distancing on the narrow footway through the Mill Road tunnel was not possible. The station’s one-way pedestrian system means the number of people using the tunnel had increased, increasing the risk still further.
Stephanie added: “There is no easy solution to this issue, short of closing the tunnel to road traffic – or maybe making the tunnel buses only – to allow two metre spacing for passengers.”
