London
requires a rail system that serves the needs of the
people of London. That means frequent services, at regular intervals,
all day, every day, over a consolidated and structured network. Put
simply,
the sort of system that operates in other cities around the world. But
what
is actually delivered by the train operating companies across much of
suburban London? The answer: 30-minute interval services, with
irregular routing
structures that, for the most part, have largely been in existence for
decades!
In their bid for the "south central" franchise in 2000, GoVia
described a metro style service that would be branded the 'New Southern
Railway'. If
successful, they proposed to introduce, from May 2002, a new timetable
centred on nine routes. Eight of these routes would operate with a
frequency of four trains an hour in each direction. This
was exactly the
sort of thing that south London needed. GoVia went on to win the
franchise from Connex in August 2001. But the promises have not been
delivered. The 'turn up and go' service has actually remained a 'turn
up and wait' reality.
The Sutton Rail Users' Forum believes that Sutton, and indeed much of
south London, deserves a much better rail system. London should enjoy
the sort of infrastructure that has been in place in
many cities throughout the rest of Europe for years. A major step
towards achieving that goal would have been realised if GoVia had
implemented their proposed 'New Southern Railway' metro style service
as promised in
their year 2000 bid.
So, the central focus of the Forum is to campaign for long overdue
improvements to service provision. This
is going to be
a challenge, and inevitably politics are going to come into the frame
along
the way. But at another level, there are many facets of day-to-day rail
travel
that make up the whole picture. For instance, why can it take so long
to
queue to purchase a ticket at Sutton station? Why can't I hear station
announcements
while sitting in the cafe at Sutton station? Why are there no warm
waiting
facilities open during the evening? Why are there hardly ever any
announcements
at all at West Sutton station? The top three items on our 'wish-list'
are set out below. Soon you will be able to read how things are
progressing
by visiting our Campaign News
page. In the meantime, if you would like to comment or to add anything,
please send us an email to contact@sruf.org.uk.
- Improved frequency of services.
A train nominally every 30 minutes is just not good enough! It is
appreciated that there are capacity constraints, and that some
consolidation in routes will be required in the short to medium term,
but this disadvantage is small in relation to the overall benefits that
a high-frequency, easily understood, well marketed route network could
bring.
- Better access to stations.
Are the rail companies really in the business of attracting more people
to travel? You wouldn't think so when so many station access points are
closed!
- More stations. New
stations are required where lines pass through areas that do not have
access to rail. Use of the urban rail network should be inclusive, not
exclusive. The opening of Mitcham Eastfields, situated between
Mitcham Junction and Balham / Streatham, on 2 June 2008 was a welcome
addition. Perhaps another area that could benefit from a new
station is Camberwell between Loughborough Junction and
Elephant and Castle.
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