Archived press release

Travelling this christmas - you won't be going by train

21 December 2001

Britain won't be running trains on Christmas Day again this year _ despite the fact that most of our European neighbours will be enjoying a near normal service. A Friends of the Earth survey, published today, reveals that out of 10 European countries, Britain is the only country that won't be running any trains on the 25th December. Hardly any trains will run on Boxing Day either.

Friends of the Earth compared the Christmas train services (Christmas Day and Boxing Day)of 10 European countries including the UK [1]. Selecting a typical journey of 180 km, FOE discovered that:

8 of the 10 countries will run a near normal train service (compared with their timetable for Saturday 24th November 2001);
one will run a reduced service;
the UK will not be running any trains on the selected route (Leeds-Birmingham).

In fact no passenger trains are scheduled to run on Britain's railways on Christmas Day 2001(none have run since 1962). And only two of the companies that replied to FOE's survey will be running very limited services on Boxing Day. The Gatwick Express is running a replacement coach service for its trains.

Richard Dyer, Rail Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said,

"It is a shocking fact that Britain won't be running any trains on Christmas Day and hardly any on Boxing Day. Yet our neighbours in Europe will be getting a near normal service. With thousands of people visiting friends, travelling to sporting fixtures and going to the sales, it is time the rail industry ended the 40 year Christmas freeze and helped get people out of their cars by running trains on Boxing Day at the very least."

1. Countries compared were France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden,Belgium, Austria, Spain and the UK.

If you are a journalist seeking press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

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Archived press release

Travelling this christmas - you won't be going by train

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