PROTESTERS will be demonstrating outside Winchester station on Friday (Nov 9) against the axing of the city's South West Train's rail-link bus service to Romsey.

Nadine Taylor from the Save Our Bus campaign described what's planned.

"We will be taking the rail-link bus from Romsey bus station to Winchester rail station dressed up in a Father Christmas theme to raise awareness of the campaign there and get people to sign petitions and lend their support.

"This is a very important part of the campaign because it is Winchester that would bear the brunt of the increased number of cars coming into the city, parking issues and pollution and as a city this is something Winchester cannot afford to have in light of the recent environment reports," said Nadine, who is heading the protest with Fathers 4 Justice frontman Matt O'Connor.

South West Trains has announced the rail-link bus will be taken off the road next month because the 11-year-old service is losing money and passengers numbers are low.

But there is some good news for the protesters - the company has promised to pump cash into providing extra buses to plug gaps in Stagecoach's X66 services between Romsey and Winchester until next summer.

South West Trains confirmed at a public meeting held in Romsey last Thursday night (November 1)that the rail-link bus will be taken off the road next month.

Jane Lee a spokesperson for South West Trains said: "We've got together with Stagecoach South to try and fill the gaps in services. We will continue to fund these services until July which will enable people to get the train from Winchester to London."

It was also pointed out South West Trains new Salisbury to Southampton Central service via Chandler's Ford launching on December 9 will make it easier for rail commuters to get to Eastleigh to catch London-bound connections.

At the packed meeting organised by Mr O'Connor, it was also agreed to set up a working party between the Save our Bus campaign group and Hampshire's transport chiefs. County officials will conduct surveys in a bid to ascertain patronage of the bus service.

Ms Taylor added: "This is a small victory for us but we know that there is still a lot of work to be done and we are committed to the long-term project. I will be approaching all parties over the next week with a view to getting everyone around the table before Christmas to start work on this project.

"My concern is that six months will go very quickly so I intend to harness the wave of support and goodwill shown by everyone at the meeting and bring all parties together as soon as possible. The aim is to start addressing these key issues and I would urge the public to do their bit by using the service to show their support to Romsey and Winchester."

Claiming authorities had tried to keep people in the dark about the planned axing of the rail-link bus, Ms Taylor said: "It was clear that all parties had deliberately kept this information from the public as long as possible so that it was presented to bus and rail travellers as a fait accompli."