Dear Residents
Our local MP is gathering feedback on the proposal from SW Trains on the renewal of the franchise. please feel free to respond directly to him.
You can find all his details, including details about weekly advice surgeries, on the website www.jamesberrymp.com
James Berry wrote
The Department for Transport’s Rail Executive is currently consulting on the “invitation to tender” for the South Western franchise. The franchise is currently operated by South West Trains and is due to expire by August 2017 at the latest (although it could expire from February 2017).
This is a very important consultation for us in Kingston because it will help shape what is included in the invitation to tender – the document that sets out what rail operators bidding for our local rail franchise must agree to do.
The consultation closes on 9 February 2016. Here is a link to the consultation document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/477307/south-western-stakeholder-consultation.pdf
I am preparing a response to the consultation. Whether or not you are planning to respond on behalf of your residents' association, I would welcome any comments you may have to help with my own response.
Just as a summary, some of the things I will be raising are:
· fares
· overcrowding on the peak time services from all stations in the Borough
· overcrowding on the platforms and staircases at Surbiton station
· the re-zoning of Kingston and Surbiton stations
· step-free access (particularly at stations on the Chessington branch)
· service frequency, particularly at Berrylands and stations on the Chessington branch
· reliability, particularly at stations on the Chessington branch and at Berrylands
I would welcome any suggestions you have on these or other points. I plan to submit my response in the first week of February.