Missed rail connections at Ashford International dominated the MarshLink Action Group’s (MLAG) meeting at The Mermaid Inn on Friday 19 June. There are now just six minutes to change platforms at the station, with many saying the short time was both inadequate and unsafe to get to or from the Rye train – often leading to an hour long wait until the next service.
Timetable changes on the High Speed line brought about by the introduction of trains at Thanet Parkway, a new station near Ramsgate, are to blame for the connection time said South Eastern who operate the service. In a statement read out at the meeting, the company said there was “no easy fix” for the problem and that it had only received two complaints in the last year.
Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore told the meeting complaints about missed connections at Ashford were raised by many constituents. “I’ve been there,” she said. “Six minutes to change platforms is a challenge for many, even when everything is on schedule. There’s often no chance of making the connection unless you’re Mo Farah. It’s dangerous too when it’s icy and slippery. I’m very concerned about how dangerous it is.”
She told the meeting she had raised the issue with the Transport Secretary and said the performance on the Marshlink Line added to the tight connections between services at Ashford International. “At the moment 31% of trains from Rye arrive within a minute, which means almost 70% do not. 80% arrive within 3 minutes, meaning at least 20% of connections are missed.”
The challenges of running the single line sections of the Marshlink made it harder to adapt to last minute changes, said Phil Hutchinson representing Southern. “We’ve also had issues with a lack of conductors last year and more recently there have been infrastructure problems.”
“We always hold the last service at night from Ashford International to Rye so that nobody is left at the station, but we can’t do that all the time,” he said. “Delaying one train at Ashford International causes problems further down the line and delays the incoming service.”
He did have some hope for travellers though. “We have held a meeting with teams to empower station staff and rail colleagues to hold the Marshlink connection for up to three minutes for any late running South Eastern High Speed service, without needing to talk to the control room.”
The MarshLink Action Group meeting also heard hopes the recent transfer of the service into public ownership would help co-ordination between different parts of the railway.
More about MLAG here.
Image Credits: Chris Lawson .
It’s tight as it is but we were on a Marshlink train that actually departed Ashford 30 seconds before the departure time!
6 minutes is manageable if the St Pancras train is on time. Previously they were different companies, so Southern seemed to take pleasure in not waiting for a couple of minutes.
Worse is when the Rye train is cancelled.
I’ve had to use taxis three times, the last time it was £55, lucky if you can find someone to share it with.
Oh, the heartbreak of changing trains at Ashford! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve just missed the Rye train and waited for an hour — often in a crowded waiting room in the evening when both cafes are closed. And how many times have I slogged up those stairs with a suitcase to see the St Pancras train (having closed its doors 30 seconds before, to the fury of those who thought they’d made it) slipping away from the platform. On a recent trip we met a doctor who was retiring from his job at a major London hospital because he couldn’t stand the Ashford connection any longer.
I have to argue with Chris’s statement that six minutes is “manageable”. Not for people with children or people with mobility issues it isn’t. Or even for people with large pieces of luggage, or bikes, or any other encumbrance that shouldn’t even be taken on the stairs for safety reasons. We need a guaranteed 10 minutes between trains. Even then we’re likely to be left with five minutes, given the number of times the incoming train is late.
I’m not sure Mo Farah is the right athlete for this event, it’s a sprint, surely Usain Bolt?