Kent & East Sussex Railway Re-opening Survey

[paul1609]

Can you help us?
‍We're working hard on plans to resume our train services - but we'd like to ask for your help....
To help us better understand your views, we've put together a short survey - it will only take a few minutes of your time, but will help us immensely.
We'll be keeping everyone up to date via the website, but in the meantime, thank you for your thoughts!

Kent & East Sussex Railway re-opening survey

We're working hard to prepare for re-opening of the K&ESR following the COVID-19 lockdown. We'd really appreciate your help by answering the questions below - your opinion really matters to us & will help to guide our plans. The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside the...

docs.google.com

 

[leezer3]

Your link goes through Facebook somehow. (Presumably copied from there?)

Please check.

 

[JB_B]

Your link goes through Facebook somehow. (Presumably copied from there?)

Please check.

I think you're meant to end up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVKk7agNW1Fd1sgf25CvztHlHDot6w_zhVGq8YdwBP7oCq-Q/viewform

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I just did this survey. Good luck to this and all heritage railways. Stay safe and healthy.

 

[paul1609]

I think you're meant to end up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVKk7agNW1Fd1sgf25CvztHlHDot6w_zhVGq8YdwBP7oCq-Q/viewform

Thanks.

 

[xc170]

Survey complete, thought if masks/gloves/distancing is compulsory I probably won't visit.

 

[Journeyman]

Survey complete, thought if masks/gloves/distancing is compulsory I probably won't visit.

Neither would I. The prospect sounds absolutely ghastly, as well as being completely unnecessary.

 

[Ianno87]

Survey complete, thought if masks/gloves/distancing is compulsory I probably won't visit.

Agreed (although I wouldn't object to distancing, personally.)

I don't want a memory of a day out to be of wearing masks!

 

[Crawley Ben]

I have completed the survey too.

I am very much hoping to come and visit the K&ESR again soon, but if masks and gloves etc are enforced then I will stay away.

As long as proper cleaning is undertaken by the railway that would be enough for me (I would be carrying my own hand sanitiser for use whilst present)

Hopefully be back to visit you soon.

Ben

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I have completed the survey too.

I am very much hoping to come and visit the K&ESR again soon, but if masks and gloves etc are enforced then I will stay away.

Same here.

 

[Bedpan]

I seem to be the complete opposite to most people. I really don't want to catch Covid-19 or give it to my wife who has a lung condition. (The only shop I have ventured into since mid-March is Boots to pick up a prescription). We do get out and about (in the open air) as much as possible but even though things are a lot better now than they were a couple of months ago, I still feel that it is a bit of a lottery and so I'd be concerned about getting into a train - - although mask and gloves could just persuade me if the R rate doesn't go up. If masks would keep some people away, maybe they could have mask/gloves and no mask/gloves carriages like they had smoking and no smoking in the old days.

 

[xotGD]

I seem to be the complete opposite to most people. I really don't want to catch Covid-19 or give it to my wife who has a lung condition. (The only shop I have ventured into since mid-March is Boots to pick up a prescription). We do get out and about (in the open air) as much as possible but even though things are a lot better now than they were a couple of months ago, I still feel that it is a bit of a lottery and so I'd be concerned about getting into a train - - although mask and gloves could just persuade me if the R rate doesn't go up. If masks would keep some people away, maybe they could have mask/gloves and no mask/gloves carriages like they had smoking and no smoking in the old days.

I'm with you. I won't be venturing onto a train of any description until the infection rate is way down on where it is now.

Preserved railways ought to be thinking about Santa Specials, and forget about the summer season.

 

[Journeyman]

I'm with you. I won't be venturing onto a train of any description until the infection rate is way down on where it is now.

Preserved railways ought to be thinking about Santa Specials, and forget about the summer season.

Some railways are bracing themselves to abandon the 2020 season completely, and will consider it a bonus if they're able to run anything at all.

 

[Ralph Ayres]

I'll use a train if I need to get somewhere and take the necessary precautions, but I expect it to be rather an ordeal. I won't be making any leisure journeys on the national network or heritage railways until precautions are no longer needed as there will be no pleasure in it; who'd want to sit wearing a mask, avoiding others, having to be careful what you touch, limited/no refreshments etc, just for the fun of it? From what's being said of the virus, the early precautions involving little more than just keeping things clean and using a tissue to cough/sneeze into were hopelessly naive and quite probably gave people a false sense of security, so the measures in place will need to be way above that level to be effective.

 

[Bedpan]

TBH I just like looking out of the window and soaking up the sights and sounds as the train chugs along. My wife enjoys it up to a point but wouldn't want to do more than one round trip and often I go on my own. In a lot of ways I'd prefer to have my own space when on a train; I'd much rather have a bay to myself if I was on my own. Full marks to the K&ESR for their initiative, I'll try to get down there when the time is right for me and I feel that I can have an enjoyable day out, with or without the wife, without having to worry about falling ill within the next 11 days. Annoyingly (for me) I had hoped to take a trip on the K&ESR when we went away to East Sussex at the beginning of February but they did not start running until the following weekend. (Had a great trip to Dungeness in glorious sunshine on the RHDR instead though)

 

[Ianno87]

I'm with you. I won't be venturing onto a train of any description until the infection rate is way down on where it is now.

Preserved railways ought to be thinking about Santa Specials, and forget about the summer season.

Some railways are bracing themselves to abandon the 2020 season completely, and will consider it a bonus if they're able to run anything at all.

I could imagine some parents / families still being reluctant (rightly or wrongly) about Covid come Christmas time....

 

[xc170]

I'd happily visit a heritage line tomorrow with or without measures in place.

 

[Journeyman]

I'd happily visit a heritage line tomorrow with or without measures in place.

I'm personally not concerned about the risks to my own health, but I find all the protection measures in place in shops etc to be gruesomely oppressive. No way am I going to visit a tourist attraction if it's full of restrictions and warnings. I'm happy to wait.

 

[xc170]

I'm personally not concerned about the risks to my own health, but I find all the protection measures in place in shops etc to be gruesomely oppressive. No way am I going to visit a tourist attraction if it's full of restrictions and warnings. I'm happy to wait.

Yes, agreed, I was yelled at by the teenager behind the counter in Costa yesterday for not standing on one of the circles on the floor by queuing...

 

[davetheguard]

I'm personally not concerned about the risks to my own health, but I find all the protection measures in place in shops etc to be gruesomely oppressive. No way am I going to visit a tourist attraction if it's full of restrictions and warnings. I'm happy to wait.

I know exactly where you coming from on this and mainly feel the same myself.

My only quibble is about being happy to wait, as I'm worried that all sorts of things that I enjoy (heritage lines; pubs; tourist attractions; restaurants; cafes; and even some parts of the national network) may not be there anymore. Social distancing makes almost all public transport hopelessly uneconomic while it is still in place.

 

[Journeyman]

Yes, agreed, I was yelled at by the teenager behind the counter in Costa yesterday for not standing on one of the circles on the floor by queuing...

Happened to me today as well. I got lectured and told to follow a one-way system in a shop that resulted in me spending far more time in the shop than was necessary. It's all a complete joke, to be honest.

 

[pdeaves]

Happened to me today as well. I got lectured and told to follow a one-way system in a shop that resulted in me spending far more time in the shop than was necessary. It's all a complete joke, to be honest.

I got forcibly told to queue in a certain place, then moaned at for not queuing in the very place I was trying to get to. Certain people seem to revel in certain types of (perceived) job/authority.

On the subject of heritage railways, I am not overly concerned about standard gauge. One of my interests is miniature railways. Enforce a 2m restriction and I see one passenger per train on many lines. That cannot last. The ones run by model engineering societies purely for the loco owners' amusement, where they let the public in once or twice per year, may survive but not the ones that, say, run round a public park and rely on family groups.

 

[Journeyman]

One of my interests is miniature railways. Enforce a 2m restriction and I see one passenger per train on many lines. That cannot last. The ones run by model engineering societies purely for the loco owners' amusement, where they let the public in once or twice per year, may survive but not the ones that, say, run round a public park and rely on family groups.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I think the railways best positioned to cope with social distancing will be those with a lot of compartment stock, as each compartment can house a group travelling by themselves. The others are going to struggle, and like you say, I can't see how seven and a quarter inch gauge lines will manage. I loved the Malden and District Society of Model Engineers' railway when I was a kid, and my own kids loved it too. They won't be able to do anything until things are completely back to normal. I hope they can weather the storm.

 

[Ianno87]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I think the railways best positioned to cope with social distancing will be those with a lot of compartment stock, as each compartment can house a group travelling by themselves. The others are going to struggle, and like you say, I can't see how seven and a quarter inch gauge lines will manage. I loved the Malden and District Society of Model Engineers' railway when I was a kid, and my own kids loved it too. They won't be able to do anything until things are completely back to normal. I hope they can weather the storm.

Thinking about how busy Cambridge Model Engineers gets on its monthly running day, no way is opening viable for them whilst there is any kind of social distancing in place. I'd expect them not to re-open to the public until 2021.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Perhaps the heritage railways could operate with a pre booking system for specific trains only and allocate limited seating in each carriage. The larger lines especially, many of them do prebook dining trains / special events etc, so I am sure it could be possible but I don't know how feasible it could be. They would have to open a dedicated booking system. Take care eveyone,

 

[paul1609]

Perhaps the heritage railways could operate with a pre booking system for specific trains only and allocate limited seating in each carriage. The larger lines especially, many of them do prebook dining trains / special events etc, so I am sure it could be possible but I don't know how feasible it could be. They would have to open a dedicated booking system. Take care eveyone,

At the Kent & East Sussex we offer pre paid reservations for all our dining services, real ale trains, Thomas and Santa services. Many of our services are fully prebooked. There's nothing stopping us from making all services reservation only. We use a point of sale system called Merac which is derived from a theatre booking system. It also features a gift card system which allows people to prepay for future visits https://shop.myonlinebooking.co.uk/kesr/shop/category.aspx?catID=8 . Merac is used by a lot of the heritage railways especially in the southeast.

 

[Bedpan]

I loved the Malden and District Society of Model Engineers' railway when I was a kid, and my own kids loved it too. They won't be able to do anything until things are completely back to normal. I hope they can weather the storm.

So did I! I was taken there as a young child when there was just an oval of 7 1/4 inch gauge and an oval of mixed gauge elevated track, and watched it grow over the years. In the late 70s and through the 80s I lived about a quarter of a mile away and took my kids there three or four times a year. Hopefully there might still be time for grandchildren who I could take there, although I suppose there is nothing to stop me going on my own for old times sake other than that I might feel a bit out of place without children in tow.

I've just seen that you can help raise money for them if you shop through easyfundraising.co,uk.

(Another good miniature railway back in the 60s was the Greywood Central, at Burwood Park, Walton on Thames, which was far more exxtensive than Thames Ditton Miniature Railway in those days).

 

[Bevan Price]

I doubt that I will be using any trains - heritage, or National Rail - until a reliable Covid vaccine is available.
Not visited K&ESR since the 1990s, when I got there using an All Line Rover, plus bus from Ashford to Tenterden - and much enjoyed my visit.
All Line Rovers no longer considered as reasonable value for money, and worsened bus service from Ashford makes access much more difficult.

 

[43096]

I doubt that I will be using any trains - heritage, or National Rail - until a reliable Covid vaccine is available.
Not visited K&ESR since the 1990s, when I got there using an All Line Rover, plus bus from Ashford to Tenterden - and much enjoyed my visit.
All Line Rovers no longer considered as reasonable value for money, and worsened bus service from Ashford makes access much more difficult.

And if there's no vaccine, which there is a suggestion may be the case?

 

[Bevan Price]

And if there's no vaccine, which there is a suggestion may be the case?

There will be a vaccine - eventually - the big question is how long will it take? One year, 5 years, when? In the long term, they may even find a way of eliminating all viruses without killing us......