Trains faster 10 years ago

It claims some trains to London are up to 10 minutes slower than in the 1990s, and revised timetables due in December fail to address this problem.

BRAG chairman Hugh Sharp said: "There is so much that Southern has done well in terms of new trains, customer service and station improvements. The main issue for us remains that trains to London take far too long to get there.

"Some of our members regularly keep a log. Many of the trains in the morning rush hour have had extra minutes added over the years, but still arrive late into the capital in many instances.

"Early indications are that the new December timetable will actually lengthen some journey times between Bexhill and London by a couple of minutes.

"I shall be writing to Southern's managing director, Chris Burchell, to highlight our concern and dissatisfaction with this ongoing issue."

Mr Sharp said that attaching and dividing trains at Haywards Heath during the day added up to nine minutes to journey times. He explained: "Many trains from Bexhill join up with other trains from the West Sussex Coastway to economise on rolling stock and train crew costs.

"There have been complaints that both parts of the train are frequently overcrowded north of Haywards Heath, while in contrast extra services that have been run to Brighton in recent years are often half-empty.

"From December there will be eight trains an hour between Brighton and London, but just two split between the rest of the Sussex Coast east and west of Brighton."

He claimed Bexhill trains would even pull over for a few minutes longer at Haywards Heath to let the fast trains to and from Brighton pass them on the main line.

"This is a bizarre state of affairs, and seems to be linked to two separate rail companies, Southern and First Capital Connect, chasing the same revenue pot into Brighton, " said Mr Sharp. "Elsewhere in Sussex there is no competition, and so seemingly less imperative to increase services".

He added: "We accept that many aspects of the timetable are dictated by the Department for Transport and that the train operator's hands are tied. Nonetheless, we do believe Southern can better meet our aspirations for faster trains to London, and we shall continue to make our views clear on this matter."

Southern spokesman Chris Hudson said he was unable to comment on trains taking longer to reach London than in the 1990s, but said December timetable changes would add an extra two minutes to current London journeys.

Mr Hudson said Southern had not been approached by BRAG on specific issues, but would be looking closely at train times and if changes were possible these would be made in May next year.

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