Tony Clayton, Chairman of the Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association, has written to Southeastern Railway with our response to the consultation on what service improvements customers would like to see during the “direct” extension of the franchise from 2014 to 2018
To: Southeastern Railway
Thank you for the invitation to comment on the improvements which would help rail users over the next four years. Sevenoaks Rail Travellers have given this careful thought and make the following suggestions on the headings you list
Customer service — how can we improve the journey experience with us?
Passenger information is the key issue which needs to improve to help SER customers navigate the service, especially when things go wrong. SER needs to do better than simply tell people waiting on a platform
– That their train is on time, when SER knows it will be late
– That their train is “delayed”, when SER actually knows how late it will be
SER also needs to help passengers travelling into London when TfL services are disrupted, especially when, as is the case from Sevenoaks, they have at least three choices on stations to leave South Eastern Railways. TfL give SER this information, and SER need to find ways of passing it on so that customers are not stranded.
The recent drop off in punctuality also needs to be addressed. We were given to understand by TfL that incentives they give their operators are effective in helping them to improve performance. SER should show what it can learn from this.
Ticketing including fares, promotions and the use of “smart cards”
We are strongly in favour of electronic tickets – and the advantage of Oyster was an important factor in our support for the offer by the Mayor of London to take over Metro services from Sevenoaks. We would like SER to get on with this as soon as possible, for convenience of passengers and to reduce the costs and congestion at Sevenoaks ticket office
We would also like SER to bid to be the first to trial the government initiative on part time commuter season tickets. Given the capacity reductions at London Bridge over the next three years, it makes absolute sense to give commuters who can adjust maximum flexibility to reduce the number of days a week they travel to London. Flexible part time commuter tickets, for three or four days a week could make it much easier for customers to vary their travel patterns and help SER cope. The case for trying it is overwhelming
Community and passenger engagement
We were very disappointed at SER’s response to the offer by the Sevenoaks Town Partnership to supply information screens to help visitors to Sevenoaks, including bus times and details of local services. To turn this down because SER has given a regional monopoly to JC Decaux for any information services not subsidised by the council, and requiring commercial input to support it, shows more than a failure to respond to local community initiatives. It is an abuse of monopoly power under a franchise given to you by the government. Can SER please fix this so that you are able to engage with community economic and social initiatives? A simple amendment to the Decaux contract – or encouraging them to become actively involved in community projects – should be enough.
We have, over the last 18 months, been disappointed at the lack of engagement by local station management. We have tried to negotiate with them on a number of issues (some mentioned here) but their ability sometimes even to recall the last conversation has made us feel progress is harder than it should be. It is not clear to us whether this is a structural problem in SER, or a matter of delegated authority, but it needs addressing if SER is to make the most of the very significant improvements at Sevenoaks station itself.
How best to manage crowding on peak services
At present peak service crowding is an occasional problem from Sevenoaks. When the London Bridge rebuild starts and capacity is cut, there will almost certainly be much larger problems. SER needs to allow customers flexibility to vary the number of days they travel with some financial incentive. The option – and incentive – to reduce the number of days on which they travel would help.
Transport integration – how might we work better with bus companies and cyclists?
Information at the station on bus services is essential. SER need to work with the bus companies to ensure that there are up to date bus maps and timetables shown prominently in the station. And SER must accept the offer from the Sevenoaks Town Partnership to supply an information screen on which bus and other local services can be accessed. The excuse of the current JC Decaux contract is not an adequate reason for failing to do it.
We know that the cycle rack problem at Sevenoaks is not of SER’s making, and that your own initiatives elsewhere have been much more successful. We would appreciate a proactive approach by local management, bring SER’s experience elsewhere to solve it
Station car parking
No comment from us – but we are sure others will.
Accessibility – how can we make it easier for the elderly and mobility impaired to use our services?
We think SER staff do a good job on this, with access to platforms and trains. But local managers need to deliver on the promise for proper seating on Sevenoaks station concourse. At the moment it is unfriendly for anyone who cannot stand for long.
Managing disruption, during both weather-related infrastructure problems in autumn and winter and Network Rail major projects such as Thameslink, the London Bridge re-build and Crossrail. How should we manage this disruption and keep passengers informed?
The responses to question 1 on passenger service address the information point. It is essential to improve the information systems, so that people get complete, live information, linked up with TfL. We know that the NR infrastructure does not help SER do this, but the holder of the franchise has to deal with it, especially through the London Bridge rebuild.
We understand the NR strategy through the rebuild is to try to maximise capacity from the reduced number of lines. In doing this it essential that travellers are able to get to the West End, to the City, and to London Bridge right through the day, with access to all three late into the evening. It is also vital that onward services from Cannon Street are properly coordinated with TfL. Too often we find that weekend services are diverted to Cannon Street, where the underground station is closed. This must not happen in future.
We look forward to meeting SER representatives at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday 9th October. Perhaps you might be able to address some of these issues then.
Yours sincerely
Tony Clayton
Chairman, Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association