Just over four years ago myself and my family relocated to the south west of England due to work commitments.

We spent about six months looking at the various options for housing taking into account that our work commitments were split between Cheltenham and Bristol. Critical to our decision-making was access to a rail link as we had noted that the roads in the area can become very congested at peak times.

Recently Cross Country trains have increased the number of trains that stop at Lydney providing more options for travel to Cheltenham. Unfortunately they do not stop at Severn Tunnel Junction, therefore it does not help those travelling to Bristol.

Hopefully, as Lydney expands, it will become more viable to increase in the number of trains that stop at all the stations between Cheltenham and Cardiff.

Like myself, I would expect many more people will use Lydney as a base for commuting into the major towns. Lydney offers affordable accommodation within commuting distance of the major towns where there are more opportunities to secure employment.

However,  the question remains will this increase the numbers commuting by rail or by road?

There is an opportunity now for the Town Council to engage with Cross Country to promote a better train services that stops at all stations along the route between Cheltenham and Cardiff. Failure to act now, will as the population continues to increase result in more cars on the local roads at peak times.

If there is a better train service then more people could make use of it to travel at peak times.

Potentially this would reduce the volume of traffic on the roads and contribute to reducing the carbon emission in the area.

It might be of interest to note that the journey times by train to Cheltenham are quicker than by car particularly at peak times. Also, even taking into account a 20 minute wait at Severn Tunnel Junction the peak journey times are comparable to travelling to Bristol by car.

– Bob Garside, Lydney.