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Trainofthought T


Please email your letters to: letters@railpro.co.uk or fax to: 01223 327356. Or post to The Editor, Rail Professional, 275 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JE. Letters may be edited for length.


Why we need BML2 now


he rationale behind restoring rail services between Uckfield and Brighton is now overwhelming. In my opinion the case has never been stronger and makes obvious strategic transport sense. During the last six months the Brighton Line has been out of action on a number of occasions, bringing chaos to the south’s premier main line and thousands of people who daily rely upon it. We must have a long-term,


permanent solution to reduce pressure on the BML and expand capacity between Sussex and London. I believe BML2 does just


that. If you study the wonderful railway map in coloured glazed tiles at London Victoria showing the system we once had, you’ll be struck by the number of lines which once radiated out from London to the coast and linked into each other. A lot have been closed and, whilst I’m not concerned about railway nostalgia, I very much support re-opening rail lines where there is a strong strategic purpose. It’s a myth that the Lewes–Uckfield link was closed by Beeching because it didn’t pay, when in fact its demise was sealed by an East Sussex County Council road scheme in Lewes. Lord Bassam of Brighton


C Virtues of the 450


hronological pedantry aside, we have established that, since electrification,


Portsmouth Direct fast services have been operated by rolling stock with adequate levels of comfort for the journey time up to the introduction of the Class 450 series (Train of thought, April 2012 issue). These have rightly been


compared to a 4-VEP, a unit more suited to the stopping services. The Class 450 has many operational virtues – it accelerates well, has sufficient power for the task assigned and has a sensible door arrangement.


It is capable of faster timings


than now operational and faster still if ever SWT (or its successor Toc) have the courage to introduce driver only operation. The body shell is capable of coping with variations to seating layouts, so a practical solution would be to establish a sub fleet with comfort levels more appropriate to the journey. As this solution seems to beyond


the capabilities and imagination of the incumbent train operating company, perhaps the answer is for the disgruntled passengers of the Portsmouth Direct fast services to contact their Members of Parliament and have them nip the ankles of Ms


This is no way to treat tourists


I am writing with regards to a recent incident between Gatwick Airport and Victoria. Having arrived from Spain and been delayed by staff shortages through passport immigration, I proceeded to the train station to make my way into London.


I rushed to the platform just in time to board the train. While on the


train a voice announced ‘passes’. I said ‘Gatwick to London Bridge please.’ A voice replied ‘£50’. At this point I looked up surprised and said ‘What?’ I saw a woman in heavy overcoat with no identifiable uniform, badges or identification. The unidentified woman said: ‘You are trying to get away without paying a fare, you must pay me a penalty £50.’ I refuted this, indicating my suitcase and told her I had just had to rush to catch the train from the airport and had asked her for a ticket to London Bridge. I said I did not believe the penalty fare was £50 and that I was not about to pay someone without ID. I told the woman to call the police to meet the train at East Croydon where I would be changing for London Bridge. At East Croydon I used the help point on Platform 3 to call for assistance. I again asked at the help point for the police. A large group of employees around the gates told me that the police had been called so I decided to wait for them.


I subsequently discovered that I had been lied to and that the police had


not been called. Eventually, they were called, but I had wasted some hours waiting for them in the cold. When the arrived, the BTP officers could clearly observe the woman’s apparent lack of uniform/ID and I told them of my concerns at being asked for £50 penalty fare. I also highlighted my concerns that this practice might be happening to foreign tourists newly arrived in the UK particularly in the run up to and during the Olympics and what I felt to be unacceptable practices occurring in our host city. Wendyl Harris


PAGE 12 MAY/JUNE 2012


Shutterstock/Photogen


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