The Humble Petition of people of North East Hampshire,
Sheweth that urgent action must be taken concerning the South Western Railway and the change of their timetable coming into force in December 2018; further that this line is particular highly valued, especially the Fleet, Hook and Winchfield stations; further that if any morning peak-period services are removed this will be detrimental to commuters and is clearly not in the best interests of our community; and further that these proposals need not and must not be implemented, as demonstrated by their ability to provide good Hook and Winchfield services during evening peak-period.
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House urges HM Government to take all possible steps to urge South Western Railway to reconsider the decision to make their proposed changes to the train timetable due to come into force in December 2018 and to make sure that the train timetable considers the economic, social and familial implications to commuters across North East Hampshire.
And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, & c.—[Presented by Mr Ranil Jayawardena , Official Report, 7 November 2017; Vol. 630, c. 1438.]
[P002075]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Maynard):
South Western Railway (SWR) is currently consulting on the major timetable changes planned for December 2018 which will be the first of two significant timetable changes contemplated under the new Franchise agreement. This reflects the train service specification that has been contracted following the receipt and evaluation of the bids for the Franchise.
SWR launched the consultation on 29 September and it will run until 22 December—a copy of which can be found on its website at:
https://www.southwestrailway.com/contact-and-help/timetable-consultation
SWR will then have around three months to finalise the timetable before it is bid to Network Rail in March 2018.
Both the Department and SWR recognise the concerns raised from the people of North Hampshire and due consideration is being given to these.
However, I must stress that this is still a live consultation and no decision has been made yet. SWR is proactively providing initial responses to comments that are being made alongside the consultation documents on its website and it continues to welcome the views of passengers and stakeholders alike. This feedback will be used to shape the final timetable that provides the best levels of service for the maximum number of people who wish to use SWR’s services on what promises to be an exciting future on the franchise which will deliver £1.2billion worth of investment over its seven year life span.