Missed rail connections at Ashford International dominated the MarshLink Action Group's (MLAG) meeting at The Mermaid Inn on Friday 19 June. There are now just six minutes to change platforms at the station, with many saying the short time was both inadequate and unsafe to get to or from the Rye train - often leading to an hour long wait until the next service.
Timetable changes on the High Speed line brought about by the introduction of trains at Thanet Parkway, a new station near Ramsgate, are to blame for the connection time said South Eastern who operate the service. In a statement read out at the meeting, the company said there was "no easy fix" for the problem and that it had only received two complaints in the last year.
Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore told the meeting complaints about missed connections at Ashford were raised by many constituents. "I've been there," she said. "Six minutes to change platforms is a challenge for many, even when everything is on schedule. There's often no chance of making the connection unless you're Mo Farah. It's dangerous too when it's icy and slippery. I'm very concerned about how dangerous it is."
She told the meeting she had raised the issue with the Transport Secretary and said the performance on the Marshlink Line added to the tight connections between services at Ashford International. "At the moment 31% of trains from Rye arrive within a minute, which means almost 70% do not. 80% arrive within 3 minutes, meaning at least 20% of connections are missed."
The challenges of running the single line sections of the Marshlink made it harder to adapt to last minute changes, said Phil Hutchinson representing Southern. "We've also had issues with a lack of conductors last year and more recently there have been infrastructure problems."
"We always hold the last service at night from Ashford International to Rye so that nobody is left at the station, but we can't do that all the time," he said. "Delaying one train at Ashford International causes problems further down the line and delays the incoming service."
He did have some hope for travellers though. "We have held a meeting with teams to empower station staff and rail colleagues to hold the Marshlink connection for up to three minutes for any late running South Eastern High Speed service, without needing to talk to the control room."
The MarshLink Action Group meeting also heard hopes the recent transfer of the service into public ownership would help co-ordination between different parts of the railway.
More about MLAG here.