OBSERVATIONS
Transport
South Western Railway
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 , 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.
