In the last two months, I have had two protracted journeys back from Gatwick. It does feel that living in Rye, while a beautiful place, has its downsides when trying to come home in the evenings. During the day it seems to work better but in the evening it can become a journey that is longer than the flight from Europe or Ireland to the airport, when it should take no more than two hours from Gatwick or one and half hours from London.
Recently, on returning from a trip to Spain, I had no problem on the Spanish side, everything went like clockwork, as did another journey, this time from Portaferry (North of Belfast) to Gatwick. It was at this end the problem started. Arriving at 6:30pm I thought there would be plenty of time to get the various trains, the last from Hastings to Ashford International via Rye is at 9:35pm, the last bus from Hastings to Rye is 7:10pm, so time was of the essence.
After arriving in good time from both holidays, it turned out there was no train to Eastbourne, where I needed to change to get the Hastings/Rye/Ashford train. Then we were told we had to travel to Brighton to change to an Eastbourne train. One was cancelled and they put on a special train as there were a lot of people waiting. We were told it would take us to Hastings only and there were no further onward trains from there. Because of the chaos it was standing room only. I took the suitcase seat as by this time I was exhausted dragging my suitcase around. In Hastings, it was now 8pm and we were told that we would have to wait for the 8:36pm transfer bus. The bus arrived close to the given time but then the driver told us we needed to wait for another train that was expected, which eventually he was told had also been cancelled and at last we were able to head off just after 9pm, arriving in Rye at 9:45pm.
The second journey from Gatwick was no better with its cancellation and delays, but most frustrating was that, when we arrived in Eastbourne, the Ashford train was on the other platform and several of us rushed the short distance to get it. It pulled out with total disregard for passengers who were obviously trying to transfer from one train to the other. It was cruel, as another few seconds and we would have made it. This time, once again they had to put on an unscheduled train as it was rather late and the platform was full of people.
How can we force two different train companies, running on adjacent lines, to talk to each other and find a more conducive way of running the train services together and complement each other, especially as, in this case, both companies belong to the same parent organisation. In Ashford, could they not co-ordinate the London trains with the Marsh Link, to avoid 35 to 60 minutes waiting time between arrival of the Javelin and departure of the Marsh Link, which totally negates the time saving and extra expense of the Javelin, when an adjustment of a few minutes would help the connections?
And I don't accept that is is not possible or costs too much money. Stop the Javelin extension to Hastings (I know some people like the idea) and spend the money, much less, on a more functional connection to Rye. I have sympathy for the weekly commuters who get caught, sometimes several days a week, in this inadequate system.
Photo: Heidi Foster
