IN AUGUST 2012 OUR MEMBERS TOLD US THEIR PRIORITIES FOR RAIL SERVICES:
1. More reliable services (services less prone to disruption and breakdown of rolling stock & infrastructure)
2. Later trains along the Arun Valley and West Coastway from London and from Chichester
3. Less overcrowding on trains at peak time
4. Additional direct peak hour trains to/from London Bridge
5. Improved information at stations when there is disruption
6. More frequent services on both lines
7. Improved information on board train when there is disruption
8. An end to station skipping (incl. terminating short of final destination)
9. A Sunday service to London via Dorking and Sutton
9. Ticket machines that are easy to read and which give all fare options
11. A simpler, more understandable fare structure
12. More parking spaces at stations throughout the network
13. Integrated train and bus travel to/from Arun Valley and West Coastway stations
13. Better concessions for school pupils/students
15. Better provision of services for special events (e.g. London Marathon, Glorious Goodwood, Goodwood Revival, Arundel Festival)
16. On board catering and/or outlets at stations e.g. shops, coffee bars
www.wsrua.org.uk
September 2012 A. Improvements to timetable and destinations served.
A1. Express services to London. The service is at best “semi-fast” with long journey times from the coast. We propose that on arrival at Horsham there would be only 2 further stations as call points (e.g. Gatwick and East Croydon). The fastest service from Horsham is once a day (scheduled as 54 minutes) the same time as to Brighton but only half the distance!
Quotes: “The current service from Billingshurst takes around 1hr 10mins, quite a long time.”
"Need faster trains; Horsham is as big as Hayward’s Heath and would have more passengers than Hayward’s Heath if it had the same or a better service”
“Horsham should have a 15 minute interval Victoria service taking no more than 45 minutes. Turn up at the station and guarantee arrive within 1 hour"
A2. Trains to London Bridge: The A-V line does not have enough peak hour services to and from London Bridge.
Quotes: “The London Bridge services now take longer than when British Rail were in charge.”
“ There is only one direct from Barnham to London Bridge in the morning and one back in the evening both extremely well used as people are generally standing from Three Bridges in the morning and to Three Bridges in the evening.”
“Currently there is only 1 direct service between Chichester and London Bridge in the morning peak and no direct services in the afternoon/evening peak.”
“An earlier direct service (arriving by 8.00) to London Bridge and a later return service (leaving after 18:30) would be a great improvement to the Arun Valley service.”
A3. Peak hour services calling at Gatwick in early morning peak (principally for staff and air passengers) and evening peak. Trains stop at Horley (where no-one alights) but not at Gatwick which is a major place of work for West Sussex residents as well as their local airport. If the timetable can only afford one stop it should be Gatwick not Horley.
A4. Afternoon services between East Croydon and Chichester prove to be exceedingly over- crowded and prone to lateness. We need longer trains.
A5. The Arun-Valley line trains should serve Southampton Airport every day of the week (not just on a Saturday – a nonsense). There is the opportunity here to link two airports – Gatwick and Southampton and to provide residents and business people in West Sussex with access to Southampton airport for business and leisure.
A6. West Coastway services via Hove should be extended to Southampton Central (via Eastleigh and Southampton Airport). There are business people in West Sussex working in and beyond Portsmouth for whom current rail journeys are unnecessarily slow and convoluted. Also through services down the Arun Valley line.
Quote: “we need restoration of direct no change of train services from Arun Valley stations to Chichester, Portsmouth and stations west. This is my highest priority.”
A7. Train splitting: this does allow faster services from Chichester however it would be better to just have faster services for everyone which means: fewer stops after Crawley; using the fast line to East Croydon. A8. Station skipping. When there is any kind of disruption Southern are prone to skip smaller stations to get their service back to timetable. This is a massive inconvenience for people in rural areas for whom there is no other public transport.
Quote: “Stop delaying on-time trains just to allow late services through”
A9. Several services to Bognor are lost every week through trains terminating at Barnham.
Quote: “An additional issue at Bognor Regis is having to set off at least half an hour earlier than would otherwise be necessary because of the frequency of trains being turned round at Barnham and not going to Bognor.”
A10. Not enough peak time trains stop at Amberley. Although this is a small rural station it has a wide catchment in an area with very limited public transport.
Quote: “A key train that should stop at Amberley is the 18:02 from Victoria.”
A11. The Arun Valley passengers need more reliable connections for their onward journeys.
Quote: "Improved or more reliable connections at Redhill for Tonbridge, at Gatwick for Reading, at Horsham for Dorking, and at Ford/Barnham for Worthing and Brighton.”
A12. Later trains between Chichester and London. The last train down the Arun Valley leaves Victoria at 22:32.
Quote: “Later trains: From Chichester up the Arun Valley, a train at 23.00 for the theatre. This could be the 22.40 retimed. From London, a 23.32 is needed.”
A13. There is a need for integrated train and bus timetables so that rail users in rural areas have the option of using a bus rather than a car to access railheads.
B. Service on board.
B1 The on-board refreshment service should be re-instated particularly as the journey times are up to 2 hours. First class ticket holders should have a rebate until this happens.
B2. Improved first class service including: separated seating (doors to 1st class compartments), plus ticket checks to remove squatters.
Quotes: Trains are dirty and 1st class needs improving, a headrest cover is the only difference to standard. For over 40% more money to get a seat (not always guaranteed) is a disgrace!
“When you purchase a 1st Class ticket you should get preferential seating as you are paying double the fare. The current difference between the 2 classes is almost none. Some of the 1st Class carriages up to London do not even have a charger plug.”
B3. Power supply on board – these are long-distance commuter routes with high prices with worse facilities than a metro service. If this is a constraint of the rolling stock then DfT should stop ordering sub-standard trains – indeed DfT should stop interfering with the provision of rolling stock altogether.
Quote: “Virgin managed to provide power sockets in all classes, why can’t Southern?
C. Information. C1. Passengers want more contact when things do go wrong. We all know and accept that sometimes things don't go as planned but silence or no visible staff adds to the frustration. Just being told what's going on and knowing Southern are trying to fix it helps instil more confidence.
Quotes: “I find twitter very helpful when delays occur far better than info on train or at stations as I follow Network Rail”
“Travelling by train would be much more pleasant if there was a large reduction in the quantity and length of train announcements that do not convey direct journey information.”
C2. We need…”more accurate station screens and announcements at times of disruption."
C3. Performance information. The arrival/departure at each stop should be monitored and reported as part of the KPI\'s for service delivery improvement. The current reporting system does not make it clear when stations have been skipped, or when delays occur along the line but the train still arrives at the final destination reasonably on time.
D. Rolling stock.
D1. The 3&2 seating is uncomfortable and deeply unpopular. The West Coastway and Arun Valley lines to London are not metro services.
Quote: “Southern need to address the 3&2 seating in Electrostars. Replacing the 2&2 table seating in the driving coaches of some of the units for 3&2 seating provides no further space for passengers & creates further problems for people passing through. The journey times can be up to three hours.”
D2. Arun Valley rolling stock is being taken away to prop up other services.
Quotes “The reduction in the number of carriages into London in the morning peak is becoming a big problem. Trains that were 12 cars are now 4 or 8 cars, whilst passenger numbers increase and more housing is built down the Arun Valley.”
“Generally we need more comfortable seats”
“Get rid of the most uncomfortable metal rimmed seats for cushioned ones “
“The 3&2 layout is cramped and not suitable for journeys of 2+ hours, current rolling stock seating is too narrow and poor quality.”
E. Infrastructure.
Re-signalling of Arun Valley line is an urgent priority to reduce journey times. This would shorten the length of time the stopping section has to wait at Horsham for joining and splitting.
The Arun Valley line has the oldest working signalling system in the country. The boxes should be consigned to the Amberley Industrial Museum forthwith and the Arun Valley brought into the 19th century. It is too much to hope that the digital age will trouble the railways in West Sussex any time soon….
F. Stations.
F1. Accessible toilets on stations open whenever trains are running i.e. not closing when station staff go home but when the network closes down. F2. Improved customer service, In particular staff to be more approachable and friendly at the train stations - especially at ticket offices and exit barriers. [Of course WSRUA acknowledge that it would help if the travelling public didn’t blame station staff for incidents that are beyond their control. There are numerous passengers who abuse local staff and who really should behave in an adult manner. There is no excuse for bad manners and discourtesy.]
West Sussex Rail User Association – passenger survey August 2012.