Over the past couple of months – since the announcement of the new December timetable on First Great Western services – Kerry has become even more involved in rail and transport issues than usual. Just before Christmas she had separate meetings with the Rail Minister, Tom Harris MP; the Government Office of the South West official with responsibility for regional rail services; and the Regional Manager of First Great Western. She also attended a rally organised by the rail union, the RMT, to protest at the cuts in local rail services. On January 19th she spoke at an event organised by Transport 2000, called ‘Growing the Railways’ and made the case for a significant increase in rail capacity in the Bristol area, as well as the need for a more unified voice in making the case to Ministers. She has also continued to lobby for a reinstatement of the Severn Beach Line subsidy by Bristol City Council, which was cut in last year’s Budget.