Verbal presentations.

The Chairman introduced the following witnesses:

Mike Gibson – Southeastern Trains

Yvonne Leslie – Southern Railways

Roger Johnson – Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association

Bob Howes – Edenbridge Rail Travellers Association

Cllr Clayton – Sevenoaks Town Council

Cllr Robson – Edenbridge Town Council

Southern Railways

Ms Leslie provided an update to the Committee which covered the following issues:

·         the timetable was changed twice a year, this year the changes in December would  coincide with the work that was being carried out at London Bridge Station which would result in some short-term disruption.  The timetable had been amended to reflect this and an additional service from Uckfield had been added in the morning.

·         the rolling stock was currently being refreshed and  refurbished.

·         A new smart card was being issued as an alternative to paper tickets.

·         The current franchise ran until July 2015.  A consultation had been undertaken concerning a “super-franchise” whereby Southern Railways would be assumed into Thameslink.

In response to a question regarding the census for the 8:04 from Uckfield, Ms Leslie reported that a new census may have already been undertaken and that she should report back to Sevenoaks District Council with further information.  This information could be passed to the Edenbridge Rail Travellers Association.

            Action: that information received from Southern Railways be passed to the Edenbridge Rail Travellers Association.

In response to a question surrounding the process for auditing the procedure for rail fare increases, Ms Leslie reported that fare increases for regulated fares had to be approved by the Department for Transport.

Southeastern Trains

Mr Gibson provided an update to the Committee which covered the following issues:

·         Average performance for the past 12 months had been 91.9%.

·         Performance during the Olympics and Paralympics was excellent with 98+% achieved on many days.

·         Southeastern and Network Rail had invested heavily in winter preparation measures.  Southeastern were hopeful that in the event of below freezing temperatures services could be maintained.  However, if there was severe, sustained and heavy snowfall Southeastern could not guarantee that services would run as normal.

·         Southeastern were keen to improve communication and earlier in the year a Twitter data feed, automated email alerts and an i-phone App had been launched.

·         This year fares would rise by an average of 4.2%

·         A number of improvements had been made to Sevenoaks and Swanley Stations as part of the National Stations Improvement Programme.

Councillor Tony Clayton from Sevenoaks Town Council reported that it would be helpful for information on local bus services to be provided at the station to assist commuters and that the Town Council was interested in providing a screen at the station which cold be used for this purpose.

Representing the Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association, Mr Johnson highlighted that approximately 4 million train journeys a year began or ended at Sevenoaks.  The need to maintain a good rail service in order to make Sevenoaks an attractive place to live or work was also highlighted.  Mr Johnson also suggested that it would be helpful for Southeastern to publish a spread sheet of fare increases in order to maintain transparency.  Mr Gibson reported that he thought that this would be possible.

In response to a question about overcrowding on trains Mr Gibson reminded the Committee that in recent years the number of rail passengers had increased considerably and in order to reduce overcrowding there would need to be improvements to the rail infrastructure.  One way to mitigate against overcrowding was to rethink working patterns and encourage workers to travel at off peak times and work from home.

The Chairman thanked all the witnesses for attending the meeting.