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Post by genehuntisking on Apr 27, 2012 19:29:01 GMT
I see there are draft details of this coming Decembers timetable changes on South Easterns website.
Actually looks like some common sense gradually creeping in.
More capacity on High Speed services to Ashford, and some speeding up of Chatham line trains to Victoria, with Longfield and Meopham being dropped from one train per hour, and the one that continues to call becoming a semi fast calling at Newington and Teynham.
Hardly Rocket Science.
The Gene Genie
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Post by chapelwood on Apr 28, 2012 16:51:50 GMT
More capacity on High Speed services to Ashford, and some speeding up of Chatham line trains to Victoria, with Longfield and Meopham being dropped from one train per hour, and the one that continues to call becoming a semi fast calling at Newington and Teynham. The problem is that the two trains at Longfield and Meopham won't be evenly spaced - in one direction the gaps will be 16 and 44 minutes. Effectively passengers who lose the fast train will have journey times extended by up to 14 minutes (partly because the slow train trundles round the Catford Loop) - all to save 3 or 4 minutes for longer distance passengers. The irregular service also means that it will be impossible to arrange good bus connections with all trains - the bus runs half hourly. If this change is implemented Southeastern may well lose more revenue from Longfield and Meopham passengers who give up on the train, especially for journeys to Bromley South and Medway, than they gain from the slight speeding up of a train for longer distance passengers. Chapelwood
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Post by stumpyuk on Apr 30, 2012 1:41:16 GMT
so nice to see they are trying to speed up the canterbury services, but have done nothing for dover, other than add ebbsfleet stops that weren't there before. not impressed for the money - sorry! but what choice is there now? the "classic" service is now so slow, it may as well not exist! (well it never was a "service"). as usual, dover gets crapped on.
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Post by barrygillingham on Apr 30, 2012 7:42:35 GMT
Thank goodness. About time. Things only slowed once the HS1 trains were running and now they've been cut back...
The problem is that everyone wants a fast train that stops at their station - including the villages on the route.
The irony is that that stretch is the one bit where the trains can get a move on.
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Duvel
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Post by Duvel on Apr 30, 2012 16:01:33 GMT
I have to say that the planned Chatham Main Line service looks much better to me, certainly for journeys I make to/from central London.
For commuting purposes I still need to see the connections at Bromley South into / out of services calling at Crofton Park to see if my off-peak commuting is speeded up, but in general I look forward to the changes shown on the Southeastern web site being introduced.
It is hard for an operator to please everyone unfortunately. For example, if Southeastern wanted to really please me, they could permanently divert the RM/DP-VA mainline services to Charing Cross, as London Bridge would be a much better place for me to change for my ultimate destination - but I realise that's never, ever, going to happen!
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Post by genehuntisking on May 10, 2012 13:36:13 GMT
Not sure that Dover has been "crapped on". The 1818 St Pancras - Dover will arrive at 19.26 (1 hr 08 min) as opposed to the current 18.10 St Pancras - Dover which arrives 19.20 (1 hr 10 min). What is lost in the Ebbsfleet stop appears to be gained by not splitting at Ashford.
Unfortunately owing to the restrictions through Shakespeare Cliff Tunnel 12 car High Speed trains can't run to Dover. By doing this it increases capacity between London and Ashford, where I understand some of the High Speed peak services are getting very heavily loaded.
Maybe I have a different definition, but getting extra capacity and a (albeit only slight) journey reduction doesn't fit my understanding.
The Gene Genie.
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Post by chapelwood on Jun 14, 2012 12:28:13 GMT
I see there are draft details of this coming Decembers timetable changes on South Easterns website. More capacity on High Speed services to Ashford, and some speeding up of Chatham line trains to Victoria, with Longfield and Meopham being dropped from one train per hour, and the one that continues to call becoming a semi fast calling at Newington and Teynham. This received from Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford: "Following the public meeting last month, I have received information that we have been successful in keeping the train services that use both Longfield and Meopham Stations. Southeastern have confirmed that they will not now be asking the Department for Transport to change the number of off peak trains that stop at the two villages. The services will instead remain completely unchanged. It is pleasing that common sense prevailed and that collectively we were able to persuade Southeastern that reducing the number of off peak trains stopping at Longfield and Meopham would have had a serious impact on a lot of local residents."
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Post by jumpedup on Jun 14, 2012 22:22:30 GMT
I see there are draft details of this coming Decembers timetable changes on South Easterns website. More capacity on High Speed services to Ashford, and some speeding up of Chatham line trains to Victoria, with Longfield and Meopham being dropped from one train per hour, and the one that continues to call becoming a semi fast calling at Newington and Teynham. This received from Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford: "Following the public meeting last month, I have received information that we have been successful in keeping the train services that use both Longfield and Meopham Stations. Southeastern have confirmed that they will not now be asking the Department for Transport to change the number of off peak trains that stop at the two villages. The services will instead remain completely unchanged. It is pleasing that common sense prevailed and that collectively we were able to persuade Southeastern that reducing the number of off peak trains stopping at Longfield and Meopham would have had a serious impact on a lot of local residents." Damn. I was looking forward to some sort of 'fast' service via Chatham returning from December.
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Post by barrygillingham on Jun 19, 2012 7:35:41 GMT
Thanks Chapelwood.
I think Sole Street, Farningham Road, Swanley, St Mary Cray and Bickley could all do with more stops too. Come to think of it, there are quite a few extra stops available after Bromley South as well.
Other than that, I refer to my earlier post!
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Duvel
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Post by Duvel on Jun 22, 2012 9:48:58 GMT
Well likewise.
It seems none of this would ever have happened in the first place if it wasn't for Southeastern wanting to deliberately slow down the Chatham Main Line services to Victoria to try to 'encourage' people onto the High Speed service to the other side of London, by making it look quicker than the classic service when it wasn't.
And then, when it looked like some common sense had prevailed in the original announcement of the December 2012 timetable, a petition by the Longfield and Meopham folks changes Southeastern's mind with no resistance, and in the meantime the many more users of Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Whitstable, Chestfield & Swalecliffe, Herne Bay, Birchington, Westgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Selling, Canterbury, Bekesbourne, Adisham, Aylesham, Snowdown, Shepherdswell and Kearsney all think that common sense had prevailed, they were getting one faster train to Victoria back per hour and thus didn't know they had to petition to keep it.
Fantastic.
What is required is a return to the half-hourly Vic - Gill stoppers, and the removal of the Meopham and Longfield stops from the Kent Coast 'fast' services. Of course, there probably isn't enough stock to do this, and then there's the complication of Newington and Teynham, so the compromise option of an hourly 'fast' and an hourly 'semi-fast' should have remained the answer.
FFS!
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Post by genehuntisking on Jun 25, 2012 8:55:30 GMT
I suspect there is enough stock to do Victoria - Gillingham half hourly off peak, just not enough Train crew. You only have to look at the amount of stock standing around during the day.
I would disagree that Sole St and Farningham Road need more trains off peak, my experience is passengers are few and far between off peak, and Longfield and Meopham are only slightly better. While I would agree that one semi fast and one stopping train from Longfield and Meopham would be ideal, it saddens me to see South Eastern fold so easily and stop both Ramsgate to Victoria trains there. Thsi service will have been running for three years come December, giving people from Longfield and Meopham ample time to use it off peak, and in my experience they haven't.
What happened to "Use it or lose it"? Now it seems to be "Don't use it, but kick up a fuss as I might want to sometime".
In similar style, personally I would like to see Marden and Pluckley drop to hourly off peak, as from my experience neither of these stations justify a half hourly off peak service.
The Gene Genie
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