KCC consultation on new 'Thanet Parkway' station 19th Jan

KCC's Strategic Planning have issued a report on proposals to build an extra railway station on the Dover - Ramsgate line which serves Deal, called "Thanet Parkway".

KCC now proposes to go ahead with some urgency. Ais an early stage in their public consultation, KCC's Transport Strategic Planning Team will give a short presentation as part of Deal Town Council's Full Council meeting next Monday 19th January 2015 at 7.15.

As part of the formal meeting it gives only limited possibilities for public participation, especially by non-councillors, so the DTC Transport WG will have an informal discussion of the proposals and any implications for Deal from 6-7pm  to the Council meeting in the Committee Room.

Anyone is welcome to attend and join in.

The main local concerns are that a Station outside Ramsgate with a large car park might attract so many customers from local stations as to undermine the viability of  the current level of train services at Deal and Sandwich.

http://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/travelling-around-kent/thanet-parkway-railway-station
 

Train4Deal - HST submission

Our colleagues at Trains4Deal have just submitted their business case for making the HST service to Deal full time day-long service.

"The new Kent rail franchise comes into operation in 2014. Trains4Deal wants the Government to include a full day and evening High Speed service in the service specification for the new franchise when it is published later this year.

It’s the only way we can be certain of keeping the level of service already enjoyed by every other community.

Kent’s railways are massively subsidised. Everywhere else in the county is featherbedded in comparison.

Deal and Sandwich shouldn’t have to go on being the poor relation. We are dealt with more harshly than every other Kent town on the HS1 network." T4D

Read about it in full here:
http://www.trains4deal.com/uploads/1/2/7/0/12706075/deal_report.pdf

Trains4Deal report

Trains4deal was at last week's Southeastern Stakeholders' Forum in Gillingham, along with a contingent from Dover District Council.

We spoke about the results of our spot surveys of passenger usage of the new HS service for Deal and Sandwich (see latest updates on http://www.trains4deal.com ). Southeastern MD, Charles Horton, commented that Trains4deal probably know more about the figures than he did, and could we pass them on!

Our questions established that consultations on the level of service under new franchise (starting March 2014) will start in the new year. Southeastern said there was no prospect of any additional HS services to either Maidstone or Deal and Sandwich before then.

All Trains4deal supporters who are interested are invited to the next meeting of the the Kent branch of RAILFUTURE, which campaigns for better rail services and is a good supporter of our cause. It's this Saturday, 2pm at the Alma pub in West St. If you're thinking of attending, an RSVP would be appreciated and will be passed on to the organisers to help them prepare. The meeting will discuss rail issues generally in Kent, and Deal and Sandwich are certain to come up!

best wishes,

Tom Rowland / Ian Killbery admin@trains4deal.com

Join the rail-users' group for the Deal area

Campaigning for High Speed trains to Deal - NOW!

http://www.trains4deal.com

Join the trains4deal group on Facebook

@ClimateRush at Canterbury on the 16th April

If you missed Climate Rush's outing to Canterbury last weekend here is a video of the event

"On Saturday 16th April, Climate Rush organised an Unfair-Fare Dodge from London Bridge to Canterbury, dressed as The Railway Children, to campaign against the 31% rise in train and public transport fares in the next 3 years - whilst the aviation industry keeps being subsidised and given tax-breaks.

A standard ticket to Canterbury is over £25 = the same milage on a train in France would be £7 = if you swipe your Oyster Card, get on the train to Canterbury, stay at the platform and then go back, you get fined the same £7 by TfL = hence, The Unfair-Fare Dodge.

The buntings of cross-stitchings were made by The Craftivist Collective during sit-ins in major stations in the UK in the run-up to the Railway Adventure."

Trains4Deal: Local Councils asking for your opinion

From our colleagues in Trains4Deal - "Please help by telling the East Kent councils that we need direct High-Speed trains to Deal (and Sandwich) - NOW!

They are conducting a survey on what people think of the new High Speed train services.

Please click on this link to complete the survey Train Services in Kent Online Survey (http://www.eastkentlsp.org.uk/files/webfm/site/eklsp_highspeedtrain.htm).

See questions 21 and 31, which give you a chance to add your own suggestions. 

Next month, Trains4deal will be at the 2nd Kent Rail Summit in Maidstone., speaking up for local rail users to Kent MPs, county councillors, key railway managers and the Department of Transport, as well as other rail user groups.

Make sure that the Survey results confirm  local people's anger at the current poor service -

Complete it NOW (and let us know what you say)

best wishes,

Tom Rowland / Ian Killbery admin@trains4deal.com

Join the rail-users' group for the Deal area

Campaigning for High Speed trains to Deal - NOW!

http://www.trains4deal.com "

Trains4Deal - new initiative

Trains4Deal have published their plans to deliver HST's to Deal in 2011.

It is envisaged that there would a small amount of building work then do a market test of HST at Deal in 2011 which would establish the business case for refranchising of the service in 2014 read full story here

Railway Children at the Astor 16th May - Trains4Deal

Trains4Deal event coming up at the Astor on Sunday the 16^th May at 6pm.

 

Trains4Deal are showing the newly released, digitally re-mastered version of the family favourite The Railway Children in an awareness-raising event for their campaign to get fast rail links to Deal. We hope you will join us in what promises to be a great evening.  The bar will be open and following the screening there will be a chance to network and chat to other members of the audience and representatives of the Trains4deal team.

 

For more details about the Trains4deal campaign, and to see the latest update,  please visit the website: www.trains4deal.com

 

Tickets for The Railway Children are available on the door £6 adults, £3 children, children under 5yrs free

Trains4Deal Update: KCC now support HST at Deal

Our colleagues in the local Trains4Deal campaign have passed on the following:

• As previously announced, there's virtually no change in Southeastern's  May timetable
• But KCC's  Geoff Mee head of strategic transport planning has announced that the final version of the KCC transport strategy Growth without Gridlock would back high speed trains for Deal.
• They are encouraging all those who support the campaign to raise HSTs with the candidates
• Full report at Trains4Deal website at http://www.trains4deal.com/

Take the Trains4Deal Survey....

From our colleagues in Trains4Deal - As you might have seen in this week's Mercury, Transport Minister Chris Mole is actively looking at stopping 4 High Speed trains at Deal each weekday morning, and also 4 in the evenings (the 1740 and 1840 from St Pancras plus the last two at night).

We need to give some up-to-date evidence of potential demand, so we're doing a survey on the morning of TUESDAY next, 16th March.
Can you help:

    - at Deal or Walmer stations, on the platform? (up to 9.15am)
    - if you'll be on a train that morning, giving out surveys to other passengers on the train?
    - and of course, fill it in yourself!

The survey questions are on the website - http://www.trains4deal.com - along with details of what was discussed with the Minister.

Trains4DeaL - 'The Deal footplate men'

Train4Deal who are campaigning to get the High Speed Trains that trundle past Deal to stop have launched a protest song against SouthEast Trains. Rebadged local band 'Cary, Rathbone and Bell' as the Deal Footplate Men. Next meeting is on Thursday at the Alma - more details at http://trains4deal.com/

Better trains for Deal .....

As well as our own DWI campaign to improve the local train service, especially the loop up to Canterbury, 'Deal With It' are also supporting the 'Trains4Deal' campaign to get the new London bound high speed trains to stop at Deal -support them at  http://trains4deal.com/