Hastings station in 2013, with Victorian-era signalling. Hastings trains are slow because of poor infrastructure, not because of Sevenoaks stops.
We think that MPs should be working together to sort out our rail service.
Yet Amber Rudd, MP for Hastings, told BBC Inside Out South East on 3 February that she wants the next rail franchise to include faster trains from Hastings to Charing Cross. This “would involve arranging for less stops, so I’ll have to combat other MPs on the way up to London”.
The emergency timetable introduced on 13 January because of the Wadhurst landslip shows what she may have in mind – during the day largely empty trains now flash through Sevenoaks at high speed, while Sevenoaks travellers have to wait up to 25 minutes for the next train to London.
Saving a few minutes for a few Hastings travellers leads to greater waits for more Sevenoaks passengers – Sevenoaks station alone has 45% more users than Hastings and St Leonards Warrior Square combined.
Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association is writing to our MP, Michael Fallon, calling for him to be equally “combative” if necessary to defend the interests of travellers from his constituency against Ms Rudd’s scheme.
But a squabble between MPs plays right into the hands of the train companies. The real problem is that the line from Hastings to Tonbridge is slow and unreliable – and improvements are needed between Sevenoaks and London too.
We ask that the MPs work together. They should put pressure on the Department for Transport, Southeastern Railway and Network Rail to use the £100 million or more earned by years of above-inflation fare increases to invest in a better service for all. Users of the Hastings to London line deserve better – whether they live in Hastings, Sevenoaks, or anywhere between.
Update: We have travelled from Tonbridge to London to find out just how many people are travelling on the trains that do not stop at Sevenoaks – and how many empty seats are not available to Sevenoaks and Orpington travellers. You can read our report here.
This has been taken out of context, the proposed fast Hastings train is one a day in the high peak. Sevenoaks has a separate service in the high peak to ensure users at Sevenoaks can get seats and space on board trains. The Hastings high peak service today runs fast London to High Brooms so there would be no change to that set up. The £100 million you refer to is the electrification of the Marshlink line to improve connectivity across the coast from Ashford to Brighton serving a population combined of 1 million. This would also offer a passenger modular change from the south coast via Ashford to London opening up more paths and opportunity to Sevenoaks rail users.
Ray Chapman is co-founder of SHRIMP with Martin Woodfine and East Sussex Rail Alliance with Belinda Fordham