Clarence Mitchell, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion, spent an early morning advising commuters at Preston Park Station of planned changes to a vital train route in the city. Clarence and intern Chris Hayward leafleted passengers explaining the new changes could mean the loss of some services to and from Preston Park Station and that they only had limited time left to make their views known to the the train operator.
Govia Thameslink Railway, who already run Thameslink services and will run Southern services from July 2015, are planning a brand new timetable to run from 2018 when the Thameslink Programme works in London are due to be complete. A 12 week public consultation began in mid November and ends on 30th January after which the public will no longer have a say on the matter.
Clarence Mitchell said:
‘The majority of commuters we met at Preston Park Station were unaware of the potential changes to the timetable, which would clearly impact on peoples’ commute to London and other areas of the country if services to and from Preston Park are lost. It will also increase costs and pressures on other forms of local public transport if local commuters need to travel to Brighton station because of the proposed service changes.T
"The distinct lack of any real communication regarding the public consultation by Govia Thameslink Railway with its customers has left rail users in the dark, with their voices unheard.
‘It is only possible to find information about this consultation on news updates buried deep on the Thameslink, Southern or Govia websites. This is unacceptable, which is why I am so keen to raise awareness of the soon-ending public consultation before it is too late. The passengers on these trains must be allowed to have their say on the services they use each and every day.’
Some key questions:
- Did you know that GTR are preparing a new timetable that could mean the loss of some services to and from Preston Park Station?
- Did you know the changes could mean both fewer trains stopping at Preston Park Station and fewer direct services to and from Preston Park Station on the London route?
- Do you think that reducing journey times on some other routes should be at the expense of passengers who use vital local stations like Preston Park?
- Did you know that you only have until Friday Jan 30th in which to make your views known to GTR?
The GTR consultation document, and the ways to respond by Jan 30th, can be seen at: http://thameslink-cms.govia.net/uploads/publications/256.pdf
You can respond by email at: [email protected]
Or by post at: GTR Dec 2015 Consultation, FREEPOST, LON15973, Croydon, CR0 1ZY