Born and bred in West Yorkshire, Philip has been a lifelong railway enthusiast with a special interest in steam in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Rail travel for work purposes eluded him until he moved down to the Milton Keynes area in 1984. After driving daily to Brent Cross, he started commuting by train from Milton Keynes Central into central London in 1997, first with Network South-East, then Silverlink and now with London Midland.

Joining the newly formed Milton Keynes & Bletchley Rail Users Group at its inception, Philip left the group after 3 years at a time when it looked as if the December 14th timetable would deliver the service Milton Keynes deserves.

However, publication of that December 2008 timetable in August 2007 failed to deliver not only the fast non-stop commuter services and re-instatement of lost Bletchley services but also cut back on destinations to the north served by Virgin trains direct from Milton Keynes Central.

Following presentations by Virgin Trains and the new franchisee, London Midland, the AGM in October 2007 considerable disenchantment was generated with those charged with providing our services. Accordingly the group attracted new members and Philip decided to re-join the group. At the following meeting he was appointed the Chair of the users group to lead a new assault.

Revitalised under the new title of MK Rail Users and faced with a need to increase campaigning activity, under his leadership the group has embarked on a program of increased engagement with all the rail stakeholders - London Midland, Virgin Trains, the Department for Transport, Milton Keynes Partnership, MK Council, and our MPs.
The new timetable using the newly completed infrastructure was launched in a hail of Government and industry self congratulations. Since then travelers have had to face infrastructure failure, train cancellations due to shortages of staff, delays caused by rolling stock failures and organisational breakdown at times of disruption that border on the farcical. Add to this, fare rises of 6%  and train operators talking about cutting back the services we ‘enjoy’ to protect their profits at this time of deepening recession.

“Nobody travelling from our region could have envisaged the level of breakdown in the transport system we rely on to take us to work. MK Rail Users are the official body representing rail passengers in our area. Faced with the disruptions we have experienced and the threat of service cuts as the economic downturn bites, I felt that the group had to do to something to protect the beleaguered traveler from Milton Keynes.” Philip Lawton says.

He continues, “I called an additional meeting on Tuesday 20th January 2009 at which the Committee unanimously agreed to embark on a campaign; a campaign to make the rail providers fulfill their obligations under the franchise agreement. We hope the travelling public will join us in this quest.”

 

 

 

 

 

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