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Trains 4 Deal - Our view
Change for Charing X
"This service will replace the existing lightly-used off-peak mainline service, meaning passengers from Martin Mill, Walmer, Deal and Sandwich wishing to travel to London and not wanting to go to St. Pancras will need to change at Ashford (for Charing Cross) or Rochester (for Victoria).
"In order to moderate the financial impact of replacing a classic service with Highspeed, we have proposed to create a route-based price mechanism which will ensure that passengers from these four stations will not pay a premium when travelling to St Pancras via Faversham in the off-peak. This change in fares structure would be subject to approval from the Department for Transport.
"Should these proposals be approved, it will also mean a reduction in the off-peak service pattern at Westenhanger and Sandling from two to one train per hour in line with the current level of service at weekends.
"Westenhanger and Sandling received one train per hour in the off-peak (midweek) in the 2009 timetable; however this was increased to two trains per hour in response to demand from the racecourse. The racecourse has now closed and passenger numbers are relatively low in the off-peak. When special events take place we will enhance services to cater.
"This service will replace the existing lightly-used off-peak mainline service, meaning passengers from Martin Mill, Walmer, Deal and Sandwich wishing to travel to London and not wanting to go to St. Pancras will need to change at Ashford (for Charing Cross) or Rochester (for Victoria).
"In order to moderate the financial impact of replacing a classic service with Highspeed, we have proposed to create a route-based price mechanism which will ensure that passengers from these four stations will not pay a premium when travelling to St Pancras via Faversham in the off-peak. This change in fares structure would be subject to approval from the Department for Transport.
"Should these proposals be approved, it will also mean a reduction in the off-peak service pattern at Westenhanger and Sandling from two to one train per hour in line with the current level of service at weekends.
"Westenhanger and Sandling received one train per hour in the off-peak (midweek) in the 2009 timetable; however this was increased to two trains per hour in response to demand from the racecourse. The racecourse has now closed and passenger numbers are relatively low in the off-peak. When special events take place we will enhance services to cater.
It's good news...
Southeastern's innovative coastal loop HS service is good news for London commuters. When the HS loop starts in Jan 2015, scientists will be able to travel down to Discovery Park for a full day's work - and it will encourage tourist visitors to Kent's seaside towns.
It will open up more educational, work, leisure and shopping opportunities along the coast; regular evening and late trains will give a big boost to the night-time economy and the cultural scene in East Kent.
Along with next year's trial of flexible rail season ticketing, the proposals would further encourage the trend for professional people to live on the coast and work flexibly or part-time in the capital.
Stopping the HS trains at Martin Mill and Walmer is a sensible move; people want a good service at their local station, where they can walk, ride or be dropped off. More stops at the end of the line will not detract from the time saved over the bulk of the journey.
...that comes at a price
For Deal and Sandwich, this comes at a price. The slow Mainline trains to Charing Cross are half-hourly at peak times; the new hourly High Speed is great, but leave us with 10 fewer trains each way daily, which could hit local commuters to nearby towns, schools and colleges.
Every other Kent town has at least two trains an hour. Such a frequent service reduces waiting time, and rail usage builds up over the years. We need is 2 trains an hour not one; the popularity of the HS trains shows that in an area with poor roads like this, people will be glad to let the train take the strain where they can.
Trains4deal will be lobbying DDC, KCC and local MPs during the consultation which ends in February, and welcomes comments via our Lobby page click the button at the top of this page to participate.
Southeastern's innovative coastal loop HS service is good news for London commuters. When the HS loop starts in Jan 2015, scientists will be able to travel down to Discovery Park for a full day's work - and it will encourage tourist visitors to Kent's seaside towns.
It will open up more educational, work, leisure and shopping opportunities along the coast; regular evening and late trains will give a big boost to the night-time economy and the cultural scene in East Kent.
Along with next year's trial of flexible rail season ticketing, the proposals would further encourage the trend for professional people to live on the coast and work flexibly or part-time in the capital.
Stopping the HS trains at Martin Mill and Walmer is a sensible move; people want a good service at their local station, where they can walk, ride or be dropped off. More stops at the end of the line will not detract from the time saved over the bulk of the journey.
...that comes at a price
For Deal and Sandwich, this comes at a price. The slow Mainline trains to Charing Cross are half-hourly at peak times; the new hourly High Speed is great, but leave us with 10 fewer trains each way daily, which could hit local commuters to nearby towns, schools and colleges.
Every other Kent town has at least two trains an hour. Such a frequent service reduces waiting time, and rail usage builds up over the years. We need is 2 trains an hour not one; the popularity of the HS trains shows that in an area with poor roads like this, people will be glad to let the train take the strain where they can.
Trains4deal will be lobbying DDC, KCC and local MPs during the consultation which ends in February, and welcomes comments via our Lobby page click the button at the top of this page to participate.
What you say...
James Ford says: "Removing mainline services is a ridiculous idea!
The Walmer Science College closure means there are a huge amount of schoolchildren that rely on the existing two trains per hour service."
RS says: "I think this is a highly imaginative idea. Very neat. The one factor we need to know is the spacing of the times between clockwise and anticlockwise trains, but this idea makes great sense in principle.This is my view on the loss of the stopping service to Charing Cross:There is no real loss of service here. I travel between Sevenoaks and Deal frequently, and it will mean changing in Ashford (or driving to Ebbsfleet) but the gains outweigh the losses. Everything in life is a trade-off and this idea is genuinely clever. The ease of travel to Broadatairs, Whitstable and so forth is also a gain."
The Walmer Science College closure means there are a huge amount of schoolchildren that rely on the existing two trains per hour service."
RS says: "I think this is a highly imaginative idea. Very neat. The one factor we need to know is the spacing of the times between clockwise and anticlockwise trains, but this idea makes great sense in principle.This is my view on the loss of the stopping service to Charing Cross:There is no real loss of service here. I travel between Sevenoaks and Deal frequently, and it will mean changing in Ashford (or driving to Ebbsfleet) but the gains outweigh the losses. Everything in life is a trade-off and this idea is genuinely clever. The ease of travel to Broadatairs, Whitstable and so forth is also a gain."