Sevenoaks rail services can only get better

Dear Editor

A year ago rail travellers in Sevenoaks complained that the services on South Eastern offered the worst value for money in Britain. This came from Which? surveys across the country.

Now comes news that things are getting better. Our rail services are only third worst - as measured by a study sponsored by the Sunday Times. It looked at the price per mile paid by rail travellers on busy commuter lines in July / August, and the proportion of services cancelled or late. Not a perfect measure of value for money, but a reasonable start.

Here are the results:
Ipswich to Liverpool Street 71p per mile, 33.1% delayed or cancelled
Tunbridge Wells to Cannon Street 64p per mile, 29% delayed or cancelled
London Bridge to Sevenoaks 61p per mile, 36.1% delayed or cancelled

On our local services things have been getting better - with trains on time up significantly after the disasters of 2016. We have complimented South Eastern on their progress.

But there's still a long way to go!

Yours sincerely

Tony Clayton

Chair Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association