Trains from Canterbury to London have got slower since high-speed rail link, report finds
COMMUTERS on traditional trains should have their journey times slashed to restore the service to pre-High Speed 1 levels, Canterbury City Council has recommended.
A panel from the council's scrutiny sub-committee spent seven months investigating the impact of the faster trains run by Southeastern from Canterbury West to London.
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But passengers on slower lines should also receive a good service, according to council bosses
They found that traditional trains had become slower since the introduction of High Speed 1 and suggested a range of improvements in a 40-page report. It was presented to council bosses at a meeting of the ruling executive committee last Thursday.
Other ideas to improve the service for passengers included allowing people delayed for more than 30 minutes on slower trains to use the High Speed line without penalty, and diverting buses to Canterbury West at peak times.
The review was welcomed by councillors.
Council finance chief and HS1 critic Peter Lee said: "I would like to see us send this excellent report to the Department for Transport."
The report also criticised Southeastern for failing to provide separate performance figures for the classic and high-speed services and made 11 key recommendations.
Officials will incorporate them in their response to a Government consultation on plans to change the way the railways are managed.
3 Comments
by HSDEAL
Wednesday, February 22 2012, 1:22PM
“Latest study shows Canterbury High Speed service which is a FULL service has not attracted any visitors to the city: http://tinyurl.com/7bxjgv8 . Yet the Deal High Speed service which is a very limited service has seen record numbers of tourists using the Friday evening service to take a weekend coastal break and a ten fold increase in season tickets from Deal.
Perhaps Southeastern should use more of the Canterbury HS trains on the Ashford / Kent Coast line and give Canterbury more traditional trains.”
by gabbygetsme
Tuesday, February 14 2012, 9:44PM
“This from a man that says Deal is booming. Me thinks not.”
by HSDEAL
Monday, February 13 2012, 9:49AM
“I think Canterbury commuters get a pretty good service unlike Deal where not only have our mainline train times increased but they have been cut back and we still do not have a full high-speed service.”