Our response to South Western Railway, Network Rail and Department for Transport Stakeholder Consultation Sept 2021
Sally Harman,
Parish Clerk & RFO,
Claygate Parish Council,
Claygate Village Hall,
Church Road,
Claygate,
Surrey KT10 0JP
Tel: 01372 467000
Email: clerk@claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk
17th September 2021
Dear Sir, Madam,
This response to the SWR timetable consultation is submitted by Claygate Parish Council. We have focussed on those questions that we believe are most relevant to residents who reside within or close to Claygate and use Claygate Station.
1. Which category would best describe your organisation? Local Authority – Claygate Parish Council
2.. Do you have an interest in a particular station or route? If so, which one? Yes. Claygate and the Guildford via Cobham route from/to Waterloo
3. Overall, what do you think of our proposed specification for the Main Suburban routes? Improving reliability while maintaining or increasing capacity (to suit demand) is the right thing to be targeting. We are supportive of the outline proposal specifications ( Mondays to Saturdays) on the Guildford via Cobham line which reflect a return to the May 2019 pre-covid timetable for both am peak and off peak
4. Overall, what do you think of our proposed specification for the Mainline routes? No comment.
5. Overall, what do you think of our proposed specification for the Windsor routes? No comment
6. Overall, what do you think of our proposed specification for the West of England routes? No comment
7. Do you agree with our strategic approach that seeks to balance future performance with cost control? Given no financial data is provided it is impossible to really comment on this question. The consultation refers to a new May 2021 contract between SWR and the Department for Transport and states that “SWR is paid a management fee to run the railway to a defined budget each year, while all revenues are paid direct to HM Government. We are incentivised to deliver an excellent service to our customers and strive to deliver the best possible value for the taxpayer” There should be transparency on the incentives provided to SWR, a clear definition of excellent service and the criteria that will be used to assess and judge performance.
8.. Do you agree that a return to capacity at 93% of pre-Covid levels is an appropriate target? The assumptions are uncertain and could be wrong. Claygate Parish Council expects SWR to continue to monitor customer demand and demonstrate flexibility to increase capacity where constraints are identified as customers return to the network and new ways of working.
9. Do you agree with our approach of maximising capacity while running a slightly reduced frequency of service, if that results in better reliability? SWR should continue to target increased capacity combined with a high level of reliability. Investment planning should be undertaken in this context.
- Do you have concerns at what we are proposing? If so, what are they? Users could provide you with their personal perspectives, it is disappointing that residents who use the service have not been consulted. SWR could look at more accessible, open ways of seeking feedback from its customer base. The consultation does not include Sunday timetables which must be addressed. Leisure travel is expected to increase to greater than pre-Covid-19 levels and is the predominant reason for Sunday travel. The current Sunday service is poor and unreliable, leading residents to drive to other stations, particularly Surbiton. This is in contradiction to efforts to address Climate Change and the desire to encourage residents to utilise public transport at all times of the day and on all days of the week.
Kind regards,
SHarman
Sally Harman