The railway company Govia Thameslink have replied to questions raised about the new timetable at the recent MLAG (Marsh Link Action Group) meeting - and responses differ.
Paul Barker from marshlinktrains.com has put a commuter viewpoint quite strongly, while MLAG has a more measured view.
Paul says commuter concerns have been dismissed and goes on to say "we do not believe that it is necessary to affect commuters so drastically in order to run longer trains between Hastings and Eastbourne which we believe do not need this much capacity.
"An easier and more beneficial solution for all passengers between Ashford and Brighton would have been to get some additional diesel or hybrid trains (diesel and electric) and continue to run service between Ashford and Brighton. We believe not enough consultation has been done among Ashford to Brighton line passengers and commuters".
On the other hand MLAG says : "Southern have advised there will no alteration to what they announced at our AGM, and MLAG has been involved over the past months in many meetings with Southern and other Rail User Groups (Bexhill Rail Action Group, East Sussex Rail Alliance and Rail Future, amongst others).
"There will be an opportunity to review the new timetable in the future, but there remain the same constraints, so it is unlikely there will be further significant improvements until track and other improvements are made.
"We recognise that single line track working on the line limits the options as trains need to pass each other at Rye. But, by terminating at Eastbourne, it has been possible for most of the day to improve the connections with the High Speed Trains at Ashford by running trains ten minutes earlier.
"The timetable will now be the same every day.Current trains run earlier on Sunday than the rest of the week often catching out weekend travellers.
"We also have trains running one hour later in the evening (except Sunday) which has been a longstanding MarshLink objective, and MLAG is always looking for improvements through consultations with the rail operator".
And Govia have said: "We have been made aware of some specific concerns around the timing of some popular commuter trains between Rye and Asford International.
"The new timetable being introduced in May will see most trains operate 10 minutes later. This is to provide an evenly spaced timetable that links into the High Speed services at Ashford throughout the entire day as opposed to just at peak times.
"Our timetable team have looked at the request to keep the "commuter" service between Rye and Ashford International at the same times as today. Should we re-time peak trains to remain as today the whole timetable for the East Coastway would have to remain as today.
"This would mean that all the benefits of the "Eastbourne overlap" , increased capacity, improved connections for all passengers travelling throughout the day, and the increase in services between Eastbourne and Hastings would not be possible".
Govia go on to point out that there are more London connections anyway during the rush hour and "that, due to the complete rewrite of the timetable, services will be more reliable and an 8 minute connection time should mean this connection (to the London Hi-Speed trains) is made in the vast majority of cases".
They also point that that the peak period "Rye shuttle is timed on the opposite half hour to the Eastbourne service and when this arrives in Rye it needs to shunt on to the single line. This means it is not possible to run two services to/from Ashford (in peak hours) any closer than half hourly apart due to the single track working at Rye" (and between Ore and Appledore).
Govia say they will continue to work with Southeastern to ensure where possible 12 car services on the Hi Speed service connect with the Rye-Ashford service (rather than the shorter 6 car trains).
Photo: Rye News Library
