Author Archives: Tony Clayton

How would you spend £340,000 to improve our stations?

Posted on by June 17, 2019

Govia Thamelink was fined £15 million for last year’s timetable meltdown. After work by MPs, local councils and rail traveller groups this has been allocated to stations, for projects to help passengers hit by the collapse in services.

For stations we cover on the Darenth Valley line £340,000 will be allocated to projects that help passengers directly.  Amounts at each station depend on how badly services were affected.

Please let us know what you think? Decisions will be taken end July, and GTR will give extra weight to passenger groups like ours.

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The next Southeastern Franchise: fewer peak hour trains to London and 50% cut in trains to Tunbridge Wells

Posted on by March 11, 2018

Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association are still working through the over 900 pages of small print of the Department for Transport’s specification for the new Southeastern franchise. Main points so far are:

  • A cut in peak hour fast commuter trains to London – from ten in 2013 to eight in 2022. That means more overcrowding.
  • A 50% cut in direct trains to and from Tunbridge Wells. Local commuters and school students could have to wait 30 minutes.
  • No more direct trains from Sevenoaks to Hastings.
  • No extension of the proven TfL Oyster/Contactless payment system to Sevenoaks.
  • No extra seats between Sevenoaks and London

 

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