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Post by jumpedup on Oct 26, 2009 15:54:39 GMT
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Post by Becs Faversham on Oct 26, 2009 18:43:52 GMT
Really not happy, 1st Cannon St train from Faversham in the morning is 6.08!  They have not klistened at all  |
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Post by chapelwood on Oct 26, 2009 19:10:49 GMT
Really not happy, 1st Cannon St train from Faversham in the morning is 6.08! There is an earlier service; 0520 from Faversham connects into a Gillingham to Cannon Street train which is due at 0632. |
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Post by O.V.S.Bulleid on Oct 26, 2009 23:43:35 GMT
...but that is just accepting a worse service.
The published service is just a marketing campaign - that will happen on 13th December. Wait a little and see the reaction from the regular commuter - when it happens.
The Maidstone issue will come out shortly and we will then see how much of GoVex's new timetable is straight DfT and how much is simply following what the DfT say. My inclination is that GoVex is spineless and putting out false media releases - my medium observatons confirm this from observations at Ashford.
Your sincerely
O.V.S.Bulleid
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Post by trainplanner on Oct 27, 2009 10:18:43 GMT
There appear to be some benifits to this new timetable, with a half hourly service to the coast extended to 23:22 in the evening, when it used to finish around 21:30. However i cannot see too many other benifits, and have found that the new timetables do not actually show all the trains i could get home!! I also suggest that many trains which don't seem to fit into nice patterns to londons termini or require conflicting moves at key locations (london bridge/chiselhurst etc) are being removed for the sake of a more reliable railway. Weather you think this is right or not is a seperate discussion. I can appreciate that no-one likes to change, not even commuters, but changing at london bridge for a service to cannon street, or charing cross doesn't seem to be that bad a deal as they are generally very very frequent, and if it does make your journey home and the connections more reliable then is this a bad thing?? Another discussion perhaps? However i do agree that the issue of earlier through services to central london locations from the coast is important for people who require to get their jobs and do not want to use the underground. I see a number of newspapers have picked up on the fact that not only will prices rise, but that journey times for many will have increased, unless you are planning to use the high speed service! Passenger focus seems to have picked up on this, but unless major noise is made by people to thier politicians (re the 466/375 change) then i doubt much will be done. The following article seems to explain this perfectly... www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/6439347/Southeastern-commuters-face-double-fare-rise.htmlPeoples thoughts? Regards TP |
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Post by Greenmantle on Oct 27, 2009 12:06:06 GMT
The timetable for the London to Thanet and Dover lines are split into two sections, one for services to Medway, and another for services from London to Medway and beyond, which exlcudes stations like Longfield and Meopham. Thus people will have to look in two places to see how often their train will stop. Of course many could figure this out by the total journey time, but I believe the only reason timetables have been set out in this odd way is to try to conceal the extra stops. I feel a move to Sussex is likely..
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Post by jumpedup on Oct 27, 2009 12:50:48 GMT
The timetable for the London to Thanet and Dover lines are split into two sections, one for services to Medway, and another for services from London to Medway and beyond, which exlcudes stations like Longfield and Meopham. Thus people will have to look in two places to see how often their train will stop. Of course many could figure this out by the total journey time, but I believe the only reason timetables have been set out in this odd way is to try to conceal the extra stops. I feel a move to Sussex is likely.. Yes, I'd thought that too. However in practice the two separated tables are probably more managagable, except for the few people who actually want a train from, say, Faversham to Longfield. |
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Post by moggycat on Nov 2, 2009 14:15:24 GMT
Just seen this following a week away. My worst fears are confirmed. Now have to change trains going home. That's progress for you. Just what you need after a long day at work. Also in the morning there appear to be 2 trains to Cannon St 10 mins apart (yes TWO, albeit the only two - and no equivalent going home)  ?? Don't get this as it is currently 40 mins apart - one much too early and the other much too late! Perhaps it is an error. You can do a personalised timetable which shows all stops. I did it but the homeward journey contains gobbledegook - where they send me via Farringdon and it takes even longer! Call me an old cynic - but I wonder if a timetable which shows just the start and finish times is a bit of spin - thus avoiding having to show all the stations in betwen - in my case this is absolutely every station - whereas at present we have a 'fast' service home with only 4 stops to Ashford - needless to say that's going. Incidentally to anyone who has not tried St Pancras - something which has really piut me off it is the home journey. Underground from the City is very crowded (more than in the morning). St P is a huge interchange station and you have to fight through hundreds of travellers with luggage, camping gear, children etc. It's just not possible to get through underground barriers quickly and then you have to fight through all these people again on the concourse to get to SE's HS platform at the other end. Fridays are very busy and I think one would be pushed to do it in 30 minutes which could mean you may miss the fast train and have to get the later one thus rendering the whole exercise pointless (but expensive) as in my case I would not arrive home any earlier. |
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Post by stumpyuk on Nov 3, 2009 7:19:42 GMT
my concern, as it always was going to be was with the timing of the new HS1 services. The 7.42 from Dover arrives in St.P at 8.47 which gives you 13 minutes to get from SE platforms, through St.P, to the tube, and onward to you destination to get to your desk for 9. This just isn't feasable and try telling a trading desk you can't get the latest commodity prices till after 9 and you are dead! - so you have to get the previous service - the 6.42 which still means getting up at 6 in morning rendering "high speed" pointless. Moving it by just 10 minutes to 7.32 arriving at 8.37 would have made a huge difference, but - no - that would have been too easy wouldn't it!  |
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Post by trainplanner on Nov 3, 2009 11:47:28 GMT
It woudl appear from the postings recieved so far that the timings of trains are being changed to suit political ideals, and not commerical realities of the railway.
What do people think about this, and is it worth undertaking a refining exercise to improve things??
Regards
TP
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Post by sibodkent on Nov 3, 2009 15:29:24 GMT
Just seen this following a week away. My worst fears are confirmed. Now have to change trains going home. That's progress for you. Just what you need after a long day at work. Also in the morning there appear to be 2 trains to Cannon St 10 mins apart (yes TWO, albeit the only two - and no equivalent going home) ?? Don't get this as it is currently 40 mins apart - one much too early and the other much too late! Perhaps it is an error. You can do a personalised timetable which shows all stops. I did it but the homeward journey contains gobbledegook - where they send me via Farringdon and it takes even longer! Call me an old cynic - but I wonder if a timetable which shows just the start and finish times is a bit of spin - thus avoiding having to show all the stations in betwen - in my case this is absolutely every station - whereas at present we have a 'fast' service home with only 4 stops to Ashford - needless to say that's going. Incidentally to anyone who has not tried St Pancras - something which has really piut me off it is the home journey. Underground from the City is very crowded (more than in the morning). St P is a huge interchange station and you have to fight through hundreds of travellers with luggage, camping gear, children etc. It's just not possible to get through underground barriers quickly and then you have to fight through all these people again on the concourse to get to SE's HS platform at the other end. Fridays are very busy and I think one would be pushed to do it in 30 minutes which could mean you may miss the fast train and have to get the later one thus rendering the whole exercise pointless (but expensive) as in my case I would not arrive home any earlier. Just a quick note about fighting the tourists at StP concourse. You are correct, the main concourse with the shopping gallery and so forth is very very busy, and is so most of the time. However, if you exit the station to the right (there are steps up from the StP underground), and then walk up on the kings cross side, outside, it's much quicker, and you go strait into the entrance for the Domestic rail bit. As for the future, they are currently constructing an extra tunnel from Kings Cross tube station directly into the domestic rail area. Sadly it's not open yet and doesnt lok to be for some time. It takes me about 3 minutes to quick walk up from the tube to the platforms at St P on most days. When I get the tube (I usually get busses), I've found a few sweet spots that dont always get so crowded. - the extreme ends of the train usually! |
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Post by Ryan Webb on Nov 5, 2009 18:53:02 GMT
SET and D(a)FT have completely mucked up the Chatham Main Line ... I travel to London occasionally, most of the time I nowadays travel home to Sheerness (via Sittingbourne) on the 2303 service to Ramsgate, this allows me to get the last train to Sheerness leaving at 0008. From December 13th, the last train leaving Victoria that will get to Sittingbourne in time will be the 2252 arriving at Sittingbourne at 0007, finally arriving at Sheerness at 0032. Victoria to Sittingbourne via Herne Hill and Chatham is 45 miles. 85 minutes to travel 45 miles is an average of 32mph. Are Southeastern planning to use Tube Stock on the mainline? (Top speed of the newest LUL Stock is 45/50mph). I refuse to believe that it will take me nearly 2 hours to get from London to Sheerness, a distance of ~55 miles. If Virgin Trains can transport you from Euston to Manchester in 2 hours 7 mins, why does it take nearly as long to travel roughly a quarter of the distance? Any thoughts? |
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Post by jumpedup on Nov 10, 2009 13:12:07 GMT
As for the future, they are currently constructing an extra tunnel from Kings Cross tube station directly into the domestic rail area. Sadly it's not open yet and doesnt lok to be for some time. Poster seen at London Bridge today indicates Northern Ticket Hall opening on Sunday 29th November and includes a 'map' of the location of the tube lines - can't find an online version to confirm or post. |
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Post by sibodkent on Nov 10, 2009 15:22:31 GMT
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Post by jumpedup on Nov 16, 2009 16:20:21 GMT
And now the fares are published. www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/news/news_items/view/120Generally season tickets up 1.6% across the board (following new DfT guidance which avoids some people paying more and some less). For season tickets the High Speed excess appears to be a flat 20% regardless of whether you're travelling via Ashford or Gravesend. I thought the uplift was supposed to be based on the length of time you 'benefited' from HS1 and so the uplift would be higher for via Ashford people than for via Gravesend, but clearly not. Not clear, but presumably 1st class travellers will be valid via either route?? |
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?? Don't get this as it is currently 40 mins apart - one much too early and the other much too late! Perhaps it is an error.