Working to deliver better rail services
Residents across Guildford and our villages often tell me they want to choose greener travel options, but reliability and accessibility issues make that difficult.
Throughout January, one of my key focus’ is working to deliver better rail services for Guildford and our villages. Guildford station is second only to Woking for the worst punctuality of trains on the entire South Western Railway (SWR) network. Just 74.2 per cent of working trains arrive “on time,” which is actually classified as arriving within three minutes of their scheduled times.
This clearly isn’t good enough but will sadly come as no surprise to many of you who, like me, have to regularly commute by train. I’m well aware of the endless delays and cancellations. Numerous regular train users have shared with me their frustrations at having gone weeks without being able to get a train that was on time and/or has the correct number of carriages. That’s why I wrote to the Chief Exec of SWR to raise the issue and am waiting for a response which I will share once received.
I am also hosting a meeting this month with the key stakeholders for any project to build a new station on Surrey Research Park. We’ve been waiting over 10 years as a community for a decision on this project that could make a big difference to green travel and congestion – I’m working to get an answer one way or another.
Couple this with the appalling communication when there is an issue and rail use has become untenable for many. Train users must be able to access up-to-date, timely information, including advance notice of delays, service alterations and reductions in train length, etc. so that they can make informed decisions about how and when to travel.
I raised this with SWR’s Managing Director, Lawrence Bowman, at the most recent meeting of the SWR All Party Parliamentary Group and have now followed this up in writing, setting out my concerns and demanding answers.
I’m also pushing SWR to improve WIFI connectivity on the Guildford to London route. The poor service on this busy route is immensely frustrating for commuters. Improvements will make the railways a more attractive travel option for many, who, like me, begin their working day on the way to the office.
With recent improvements in technology, I believe that this issue could be addressed with relative ease – and I will keep you updated on my efforts to ensure this happens.
There are so many Guildford constituents who want to travel by rail, but don’t feel confident enough in the service to do so. Train travel has the potential of empowering people to make greener travel choices if we can ensure more reliable, cost effective and accessible services.
That is why I have launched my annual train survey. I want to hear from you: the good, the bad, and the ugly of your train experiences. Your feedback will help me push for the changes needed to make rail travel easier and more reliable for everyone.