ES Views: Give commuters some say in who runs their trains

Have your say Twitter: @esviews Email: esviews@standard.co.uk
Commuter wait to board a train at East Croydon station
Jack Taylor/Getty Images
20 March 2017
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Judging by your report on Southeastern trains, it would appear that the decision for the new franchise owner of the network is a done deal [“Minister: Axe first class on commuter trains”, March 15].

For the second time in succession, the long-suffering Southeastern commuter has not been consulted at all and the Government’s favourite operator will continue to run the South of England’s trains in a disastrous manner.

Last month’s punctuality rate on the Hastings route was well below 80 per cent and there was no compensation for the bulk of those trips. Commuters want the network to run, not compensation of a couple of pennies. Each month we fill out the same paperwork but never get automatic refunds for a substandard service. It is well below what should be required to keep the franchise.

How can such an important part of hundreds of thousands of commuters’ lives be treated like this? We have suffered appallingly for years while London Bridge is renovated and still no improvement has come about. Most commuters would rather the money be spent on new signalling infrastructure.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should stop pandering to the Go-Ahead Group and ask voters, workers and taxpayers how the network should be run. If he tried living in the real, stressful and cripplingly expensive commuter world, he might have a change of heart.
M Green

I’m not sure what Robert Munster [Letters, March 16] is thinking but his views are certainly not the same as most of Southeastern’s customers’.

Its services are not generally comfortable, fast and reliable especially in the rush hour. In fact, the service is shoddy to say the least — I travel on Southeastern every evening from Charing Cross to Orpington and it never arrives on time, crawling for most parts of the journey.

This Government should stop looking for cheap headlines and get a grip on the outrage our train services have become. How difficult can it be to run a train service on schedule? Most European countries can do it.
Mark Bunker

I am surprised no one seems to have raised an obvious point about removing first class seats. If they are removed, there is likely to be a fall in the number of passengers.

The rail companies will probably insist that profit margins must be maintained and this Government will not sanction increased subsidies. Therefore, standard fares would have to rise. The evidence suggests the Government certainly wouldn’t care whether this was fundamentally unfair. Therefore, the only question is whether they would view the voter outcry as an acceptable price to pay.
Matthew Roberts


Scotland is not the same as London

I am proud to be both a Scot and a Londoner. However, Londoners are often seen as too convinced of their own importance and Matthew d’Ancona’s article [“May is right to deny Sturgeon another Scottish referendum”, Comment, March 15] does nothing to counter that view.

Is he really trying to equate London’s constitutional status with that of Scotland? This is a nation which has been independent for much of its history and could be again, while London is a city.

In the Indyref campaign, David Cameron and the No campaign screamed that EU membership could only be guaranteed by staying in the UK. Many Scots voted No as a result. They were sold a pup and the constitutional arrangement they voted for does not exist — it needs to be revisited.
Fraser Devlin

Matthew d’Ancona’s argument that Scots should be denied a second independence referendum is underpinned by his assertion with Brexit, “voters made it clear that they wished an end to freedom of movement”. How can he say this?

Immigration was a huge part of the Leave campaign’s narrative and anti-immigrant feeling may have swung the vote. But to imply all 17.4 million Leave voters voted to quit the EU for this specific reason is nonsense.
Alistair King

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Don't shout down bike superhighway

In response to Jessica Learmond-Criqui’s letter on cycle superhighway 11 [Letters, March 13], I frequently go through the Swiss Cottage gyratory system by bus. While I do not cycle, all of my three children do to some degree and my middle son frequently uses the CS11 route.

I am concerned that a group of self-interested people are getting an outsized voice on this plan and holding up much needed progress in delivering safer cycling paths. I would like my children to be able to ride safely and one day my young grandchildren to ride at leisure in Regent’s Park. That needs cycling infrastructure, fewer cars and less pollution which will benefit all residents of the city.

I for one will gladly welcome this path and hope for fewer cars in Regent’s Park once the gates are closed more often.
Loretta Regis


Jessica Learmond-Criqui once again speaks out for what is a fast-dwindling number of Camden residents who oppose CS11. Their recent well-advertised public CS11 meeting only attracted 25 people.

As a local resident, it’s clear to me what causes pollution and it’s not people on bicycles. Locals who are too fearful to take their kids to school on foot or bike, rather than in a private car, are the key cause of pollution and congestion in the area.
Justin McKie

Try trams to beat pollution in streets

Rather than ordering a fleet of many hundreds of Euro VI-compliant buses, which still cause pollution, Transport for London bosses should copy cities such as Zürich, Vancouver and San Francisco, where almost all surface transport is by modern high-capacity trams and trolleybuses.

These are not only cleaner — with no emissions whatsoever — but are also whisper-quiet, so would greatly reduce traffic noise levels in London. It would of course require considerable investment but we have to look at the payback over the medium to long-term.

After all, what price can we put on the continued danger to people’s health through dreadful air quality?
Shawn Buck

Join the conversation: #escleancityviews


The Mayor needs to stand up for Orient

It’s interesting to see how the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, wants to bring an NFL franchise to London, see the Tour de France return to the capital and help Tottenham Hotspur FC overcome new ground issues as part of his blueprint for the capital’s sporting future.

However, it seems he is quite content to sit back and do nothing while London’s second oldest football club, Leyton Orient FC, slides towards relegation from the Football League under the mismanagement of its owner Francesco Becchetti.

Come on, Sadiq. Stand up for the Os and help save our club.
Paul Short

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