Tunbridge Wells & District Rail Travellers' Association.
18.12.2016 - New Franchise Schedule
The current franchise is to be extended from June 2018 to December 2018, with Southeastern continuing until then. The consultation will start in February 2017, with the Invitation to Tender being issued in September. We have spoken with the Department for Transport franchise team and plan to meet them early in the New Year. What do we want out of the new franchise? More seats and better reliability are probably at the top of most people's wish lists.
08.12.2016 - Transport for London Devolution Dropped
Plans to hand control of Southeastern suburban services as far out as Sevenoaks over to TfL have been dropped; the Department for Transport will remain in charge. Whatever the merits for London may or may not have been, this could only have been to the disadvantage of our line: TfL has no accountability to non-London residents, and the only way TfL could increase frequencies of services in their area would be reducing the capacity available to us. The Association has made representations on the subject, and we are glad that the status quo remains. Incidentally, TfL would not have run the trains, only taken over specification from the DfT. Those that they have control over, branded as "TfL Rail" are in fact operated under franchise by the Hong Kong Railway Corporation. It's perfectly possibly that Southeastern would have continued to run the south east suburban trains.
28.05.2016 - Association News - committee changes
After several years as chairman, Bob Baker has stood down as chairman of the Association on moving out of the area. Also, Dave Harding has stepped down from his role in web support. Both of them made valuable contributions, most visibly in this web presence. We wish them will in the future.
Peter Hudson, chairman from 1989 to 1996, has re-joined the committee (suitably recuperated after a 20 year break), and Martin Lewis is now Vice Chairman. With three committee members, we will be active in matters such as the new franchise and the TfL threat, but we are always open to more help!
01.09.2014 - New research examines the relationship passengers have with their train companies
To improve passengers’ trust in the rail industry, train companies not only need to get the basic service right day-to-day, they need to put effort into building long-term relationships with their passengers. This is a main finding of new research, Passengers’ relationship with the rail industry.
26.08.2014 - Opinion piece - why are UK rail fares so expensive?
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/why-are-uk-rail-fares-so-expensive-9678640.html
22.08.2014 - A thoughtful article on rail fare price rises
http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2014/08/dont-price-people-off-the-railways/
26.07.2014 - Where cheap property prices meet cheap train lines
http://www.steerdaviesgleave.com/news-and-insights/Shining-a-light-on-UK-rail-fares
26.06.2014 - See how South Eastern performed - National Rail Passenger Survey
11.06.2014 - Call for cheaper train tickets for part-time workers
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/fair-fares-now/part-time-tickets-now
07.05.2014 - April Blog
The April Blog - secret diary of a commuter from the (mainly Southeastern) front-line is now on the TWDRTA blog page.
23.04.2014 - Why are trains late?
http://www.ethosjournal.com/topics/transport/item/502-why-are-trains-late
02.04.2014 - March Blog
The March Blog - secret diary of a commuter from the (mainly Southeastern) front-line is now on the TWDRTA blog page.
31.03.2014 - Passenger rights to compensation
The Office of Rail Regulation has published a report showing how well passengers are aware of their rights to compensation when trains are delayed or cancelled.
Cannon Street tube station
TWDRTA along with other passenger groups has lobbied for Cannon Street tube station to be open on a Sunday when the station is open because of services being diverted there due to engineering work on the London Bridge to Charing Cross stretch. Greg Clark MP has written to the Transport Secretary as this demonstrates a lack of joined up thinking between rail companies, network rail and TFL. It is very poor customer focus.
05.03.2014 - Two Together Railcard launched
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/blogs/rail/wait-for-thirty-years-and-twotogether-turns-up
01.03.2014 - Charing Cross - moves to reduce congestion 28th February 2014.
Those of you who use Charing Cross will notice that some work is underway - removal of shops and new ticket barriers particularly. Congestion was identified as a problem some years ago and 4 extra ticket barriers will be installed. As they take more space on the concourse the small block of shops has gone. In addition the gents toilet down the steps will be closed with the gents taking over the ladies loo (after some amendments!) and the ladies having a new facility in what was previously a storage area.
More details at http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2014/02/09/what-are-they-building-at-charing-cross-railway-station/
18.02.2014 - South Eastern rated worst train company for service in Which survey February 17th (two stories)
http://www.metro.co.uk/2014/02/17/southeastern-why-are-we-worst-train-company-because-you-hate-going-to-the-office-4306846/ http://www.courier.co.uk/Commuters-rate-Southeastern-trains-worst/story-20643283-detail/story.html
18.02.2014 - Flooding and landslips affect travel February 10th
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26119299
18.02.2014 - National Rail Passenger Survey published by Passenger Focus Jan 21st taken before the recent difficulties, this survey shows South Easternimproving overall on last year but with some worrying dissatisfactionabout punctuality, journey time and the way that the company dealt with delays.
14.11.2013 - Southeastern train fare rises capped by Government October 2013
14.11.2013 - MP demands improvements from rail company Southeastern for Tunbridge Wells commuters October 2013
14.12.2012 - Response to the Brown Review by Passenger Focus
Following the issues with the West Coast franchise, and the Department for Transport’s decision to suspend the rail franchising process, an independent review was set up to look at what needs to change.
Passenger Focus has now responded to the Brown Review looking at franchising from a passenger perspective and asking how the passenger voice can be better heard within the debate.
See http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/publications/brown-review-of-franchising-passenger-focus-response
04.07.2012 - Catering trolleys return to Hastings line
http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/latest-news/on-board-catering-returns-to-serve-the-hastings-line/
04.07.2012 - News on changes to services caused by London Olympics
http://www.getaheadofthegames.com/
04.07.2012 - Passenger Focus and the government's rail fare consultation
http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/news/articles/passenger-focus-responds-to-governments-rail-fares-and-ticketing-consultation2
31.12.2011 - Rail season tickets cost up to 10 times more in UK than elsewhere in Europe
A season ticket for a 22-mile journey from Surrey to London costs £3,268, compared to £336 for a similar journey in Italy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/30/uk-rail-season-tickets-europe?CMP=twt_fd
24.11.2011 - South Eastern July/August 2012 Olympic timetable published
http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/olympics/timetables/
22.11.2011 - Report into station overrun incident at Stonegate, East Sussex
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has published a report from the incident last year. It can be found at:
http://www.raib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/reports_2011/report182011.cfm
22.11.2011 - South Eastern, worst levels of satisfaction on fares.
The National Passenger Survey Summary Report Spring 2011 from Passenger Focus available at
( http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/news-and-publications/document-search/ ) shows that in a survey of 1694 South Eastern customers only 32% felt that the value for money for the price of a ticket was good or satisfactory. This is down 7% since the previous survey in the autumn of 2010. 46% (the highest equal with National Express East Anglia) were dissatisfied. To ensure balance I should point out that overall satisfaction with South Eastern was up by 2% since Autumn 2010 to 82% though this still compares less well against all other train operating customers except National Express East Anglia and First Capital Connect.
06.09.2011 - Rail Value for Money Study
Realising the potential of GB rail Report of the Rail Value for Money Study This independent report of a study chaired by Sir Roy McNulty and commissioned by the Secretary of State for Transport didn't get much publicity but look at the small print......The report was jointly sponsored by DfT and ORR (Office of Rail Regulation) to examine the opportunities and barriers to improve the value for money of GB rail for taxpayers, passengers and freight customers.
Summary report at http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/report-of-the-rail-vfm-study/realising-the-potential-of-gb-rail-summary.pdf
06.09.2011 - Is your ticket office set to close in round of cuts?
http://www.walletpop.co.uk/2011/09/06/is-your-ticket-office-set-to-close-in-round-of-cuts/?ncid=webmail4
22.08.2011 - Rail fares pushed up by Government squeeze on train operators
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/4567690/Rail-fares-pushed-up-by-Government-squeeze-on-train-operators.html
22.08.2011 - Don’t price us off the trains – the government must halt this unfair fares hike
http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/dont-price-us-off-the-trains-government-must-stop-this-unfair-fares-hike
22.08.2011 - No chance of a fair deal on rail tickets
http://www.railwatch.org.uk/backtrack/rw127/rw127p16.pdf