Last call for the Charing Cross to Gillingham via Woolwich semi fasts

[NorthKent1989]

Look Thameslink is here to stay! You need to accept the change or else we stand still in rail development, Thameslink will work out fine!

The all stops is for a better purpose and all the while you get a great connection to north London without the tube, the semi fast needed to go because its unreasonable for stations to be skipped in a age of increased rail travel.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Look Thameslink is here to stay! You need to accept the change or else we stand still in rail development, Thameslink will work out fine!

The all stops is for a better purpose and all the while you get a great connection to north London without the tube, the semi fast needed to go because its unreasonable for stations to be skipped in a age of increased rail travel.

I think we need to separate out two things:
1/ the long-term timetable change, which, yes, opens up new journey opportunities at the expense of the old semi-fast.
2/ the short-term shambles of the first week or so of the Rainham Thameslink service (30-odd TL cancellations at Higham today, 0600-2000 according to realtimetrains)

 

[NorthKent1989]

Look Thameslink is here to stay! You need to accept the change or else we stand still in rail development, Thameslink will work out fine!

The all stops is for a better purpose and all the while you get a great connection to north London without the tube, the semi fast needed to go because its unreasonable for stations to be skipped in a age of increased rail travel.

In that case if it’s so unreasonable for fast trains to skip certain stations why are you so in favour of the Sidcup fasts then? Or is this just classic double standards

 

[Class465fan]

Look Thameslink is here to stay! You need to accept the change or else we stand still in rail development, Thameslink will work out fine!

The all stops is for a better purpose and all the while you get a great connection to north London without the tube, the semi fast needed to go because its unreasonable for stations to be skipped in a age of increased rail travel.

Well then if you want the trains to stop at most stations, then lets get rid of your sidcup semi fast service. As @NorthKent1989 said that's double standards.

 

[Bromley boy]

Look Thameslink is here to stay! You need to accept the change or else we stand still in rail development, Thameslink will work out fine!

The all stops is for a better purpose and all the while you get a great connection to north London without the tube, the semi fast needed to go because its unreasonable for stations to be skipped in a age of increased rail travel.

I can’t help but wonder whether it will ever make it all the way to Ashford. The depot is still just a theory as far as I am aware, and is a long way becoming a reality, even though there are quite a few trainee drivers knocking about earmarked for it (many of whom are waiting months for instructors).

It’s a complete mess.

 

[telstarbox]

In that case if it’s so unreasonable for fast trains to skip certain stations why are you so in favour of the Sidcup fasts then? Or is this just classic double standards

In the morning there are five Medway trains which are fast from Rochester to London Bridge where you can change to Charing X, and the overall journey is faster than the old semi fast via Woolwich was. And five fasts in the opposite direction in the evening.

 

[NorthKent1989]

In the morning there are five Medway trains which are fast from Rochester to London Bridge where you can change to Charing X, and the overall journey is faster than the old semi fast via Woolwich was. And five fasts in the opposite direction in the evening.

That’s only if you need to get to London quickly or your not in need of an interchange, I myself work in Shadwell occasionally so I change at Woolwich usually, the fast service was useful for me in that regard, however taking away HS1 most trains to and from Medway are now stoppers, I’ve said this before Medway is too far out for any stopping service in any route.

 

[telstarbox]

How many people in Medway work in Shadwell though? You can't expect the whole timetable for a region to be designed purely around your needs.

 

[NorthKent1989]

How many people in Medway work in Shadwell though? You can't expect the whole timetable for a region to be designed purely around your needs.

I haven’t suggested for one second it should do so, but plenty people do work in the general Docklands area who live in Medway and can’t all pay for HS1 either, and I’m not being funny but Medway really didn’t ask for Thameslink and we certainly didn’t ask for our services to become stoppers either, most of us are pretty unhappy with the chnages and we are fed up with our concerns being ignored, don’t we have a right to have a choice to use HS1 or to use a Bromley service or a Woolwich service? People constantly telling us to “dig deeper” into our pockets, nothing good or wonderful has come out have having Thameslink in our neck of the woods.

 

[telstarbox]

They can go to London Bridge (on a fast non-HS1 train!) and take the Jubilee line though, or Cannon Street and take the DLR from Bank which is next door. Plenty of people do this already.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Well then if you want the trains to stop at most stations, then lets get rid of your sidcup semi fast service. As @NorthKent1989 said that's double standards.

In that case if it’s so unreasonable for fast trains to skip certain stations why are you so in favour of the Sidcup fasts then? Or is this just classic double standards

No, the Sidcup needs the fasts believe it or not, but I dint see how the. Sidcup fasts have anything to do with your Thameslink services

 

[NorthKent1989]

They can go to London Bridge (on a fast non-HS1 train!) and take the Jubilee line though, or Cannon Street and take the DLR from Bank which is next door. Plenty of people do this already.

Using zone 1....sorry but commuters do want to save money, i know it must sound us lot in in Medway are entailed but no more than any other urban area that’s had their trains messed up, their services you speak of are peak only, im thinking people who travel just after the peaks, covering all bases here

 

[Clip]

I haven’t suggested for one second it should do so, but plenty people do work in the general Docklands area who live in Medway and can’t all pay for HS1 either, and I’m not being funny but Medway really didn’t ask for Thameslink and we certainly didn’t ask for our services to become stoppers either, most of us are pretty unhappy with the chnages and we are fed up with our concerns being ignored, don’t we have a right to have a choice to use HS1 or to use a Bromley service or a Woolwich service? People constantly telling us to “dig deeper” into our pockets, nothing good or wonderful has come out have having Thameslink in our neck of the woods.

You may have heard of crosstalk which opens soon which will be an easy change at farringdon which is why you get thameslink. So fire all your 'looking at the big picture' you seemed to have not looked at this

 

[NorthKent1989]

No, the Sidcup needs the fasts believe it or not, but I dint see how the. Sidcup fasts have anything to do with your Thameslink services

Because you said it was unreasonable that Medway skipped stations.......

 

[NorthKent1989]

I can't feel sorry for Medway tbh and don't ask me too.

All I'm reading is a constant barrage against Thameslink! Its like you want it to fail so you can all smugly glide past stations, its pure snobbery and unfair that you would wish Thameslink to fail after a hurdle.

This is one of the best things to have happened is Thameslink its a great system that can be perfected, if yo give it more time!

 

[Class465fan]

I can't feel sorry for Medway tbh and don't ask me too.

All I'm reading is a constant barrage against Thameslink! Its like you want it to fail so you can all smugly glide past stations, its pure snobbery and unfair that you would wish Thameslink to fail after a hurdle.

This is one of the best things to have happened is Thameslink its a great system that can be perfected, if yo give it more time!

Doesn't your new sidcup semi fast service smugly glide past stations?? Again double standards...

 

[NorthKent1989]

I can’t help but wonder whether it will ever make it all the way to Ashford. The depot is still just a theory as far as I am aware, and is a long way becoming a reality, even though there are quite a few trainee drivers knocking about earmarked for it (many of whom are waiting months for instructors).

It’s a complete mess.

I think by 2020 they are going to recast the timetable again,the vast majority of commuters are extremely unhappy, I don’t think Ashford/Maidstone is going to happen either.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Doesn't your new sidcup semi fast service smugly glide past stations?? Again double standards...

No not all, I don't have double standards so please stop saying that, Lee and Mottingham aren't important enough stations to warrant extra tph.

I'm trying to tell you that Thameslink isn't a bad thing yet you constantly criticise it, improvements must be made somewhere

 

[NorthKent1989]

No not all, I don't have double standards so please stop saying that, Lee and Mottingham aren't important enough stations to warrant extra tph.

I'm trying to tell you that Thameslink isn't a bad thing yet you constantly criticise it, improvements must be made somewhere

But you do have double standards, your recent posts have said so.

Any criticism Thameslink gets is well and truly deserved, they have failed to provide the services they promised the average commuter and traveller, I don’t see why we cannot aim our anger at them, this has changed peoples lives in some cases.

 

[Daz28]

But you do have double standards, your recent posts have said so.

Any criticism Thameslink gets is well and truly deserved, they have failed to provide the services they promised the average commuter and traveller, I don’t see why we cannot aim our anger at them, this has changed peoples lives in some cases.

You can rightly criticise Thameslink for the shambolic performance since the timetable change. This is well and truly deserved. Nobody is defending that, other than correctly pointing out it will resolve itself in time.

However your constant and frankly tedious gripes that Medway are hard done by when they have a wide variety of choices of route, destination, price and speed are unwarranted. You keep claiming to speak on behalf of the entire commuting population of Medway, when in fact you are just whingeing that the service is no longer as convenient for your personal journey needs as it once was. Get over it.

 

[NorthKent1989]

You can rightly criticise Thameslink for the shambolic performance since the timetable change. This is well and truly deserved.

However your constant and frankly tedious gripes that Medway are hard done by when they have a wide variety of choices of route, destination, price and speed are unwarranted. You keep claiming to speak on behalf of the entire commuting population of Medway, when in fact you are just whingeing that the service is no longer convenient for your personal journey needs.

I’m pretty fed up with posters on here (not all most of you have been understanding) saying that I am moaning about what is a shambolic service, you do not know how stressful this has been for most of us, dismissing our concerns as constant whinging isn’t helpful or constructive, should I be grateful that I’ve had change my commute last minute and go out of my way, no one would be happy with that! It’s

Let me make this clear now, HS1 might convenient for some if you can afford the extra premium or you work near Stratford or St. Pancras, Victoria might be convenient if your headed that way if you need to change at Bromley South for either the tram at Beckenham or Victoria line at Brixton, it’s just so happens the Woolwich line is (or was) convenient for me and others, wheather it’s ten minutes increase or fifteen minutes increase in journey that makes a big difference for some people, people have already lost their jobs in other places, should they stop whinging? I may have to quit my job a job I actually love because I was late and missed connections so do not tell me I’m moaning, when I’m genuinely worried

It’s okay for you your nearest station is Elmstead Woods hardly an outer suburban town or district now is it.

 

[bramling]

I can't feel sorry for Medway tbh and don't ask me too.

All I'm reading is a constant barrage against Thameslink! Its like you want it to fail so you can all smugly glide past stations, its pure snobbery and unfair that you would wish Thameslink to fail after a hurdle.

This is one of the best things to have happened is Thameslink its a great system that can be perfected, if yo give it more time!

I dare you to turn up on many Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire stations and try to convince people how wonderful Thameslink is. It’s a good thing if it could be made to work reliably - in three decades that has never really been consistently achieved even on its established routes. Now the disease has spread to more routes which in some cases are very much more fragile. Going forward the propagation of delays since the RailSham2020 timetable came in is more concerning than the cancellations, appalling though that is.

 

[Bromley boy]

I dare you to turn up on many Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire stations and try to convince people how wonderful Thameslink is.

Or Kent/Sussex stations, for that matter .

 

[bramling]

You can rightly criticise Thameslink for the shambolic performance since the timetable change. This is well and truly deserved. Nobody is defending that, other than correctly pointing out it will resolve itself in time.

However your constant and frankly tedious gripes that Medway are hard done by when they have a wide variety of choices of route, destination, price and speed are unwarranted. You keep claiming to speak on behalf of the entire commuting population of Medway, when in fact you are just whingeing that the service is no longer as convenient for your personal journey needs as it once was. Get over it.

Why should he get over it? It’s clear many are not satisfied with elements of the timetable, and it’s easy to see why. I’d be furious if I used the service from some of the stations, particularly Higham. If people don’t complain then nothing will change. Feedback from users has already got seatback tables on the undesiros, despite many on here (the self-same people who said this would all work fine) saying it would never happen.

Thameslink is now chatter in Hertfordshire towns, I heard people talking about it whilst shopping in my town centre earlier. Once this gets to a certain level it becomes hard for politicians to ignore, and there are certainly marginal constituencies along the new Thameslink routes.

As for GTR saying the disruption will “ease”, why on earth should anyone take that seriously when two weeks ago the self-same GTR told us impact would be “minimal”? We read on here how wonderfully planned and modelled everything would be - now we’re hearing words like meltdown and apocalypse used to describe reality. The cream on the cake is the suggestion that Finsbury Park could be the Clapham Junction of north London. Sadly it’s far more likely to end up being the Bethnal Green of north London.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Why should he get over it? It’s clear many are not satisfied with elements of the timetable, and it’s easy to see why. I’d be furious if I used the service from some of the stations, particularly Higham. If people don’t complain then nothing will change. Feedback from users has already got seatback tables on the undesiros, despite many on here (the self-same people who said this would all work fine) saying it would never happen.

Thameslink is now chatter in Hertfordshire towns, I heard people talking about it whilst shopping in my town centre earlier. Once this gets to a certain level it becomes hard for politicians to ignore, and there are certainly marginal constituencies along the new Thameslink routes.

As for GTR saying the disruption will “ease”, why on earth should anyone take that seriously when two weeks ago the self-same GTR told us impact would be “minimal”? We read on here how wonderfully planned and modelled everything would be - now we’re hearing words like meltdown and apocalypse used to describe reality. The cream on the cake is the suggestion that Finsbury Park could be the Clapham Junction of north London. Sadly it’s far more likely to end up being the Bethnal Green of north London.

Thank you @bramling and others who have actually shown consideration to the situations faced by those who live outside London, I don’t mean to sound like I’m speaking for Medway, but I am echoing what my fellow commuters are saying to me, some people don’t understand that, once again thank you.

Now I understand that Medway has options, it doesn’t take a genius to work that out, but those options are only worthwhile if your a regular user of them or need that specific route, one size does not fit all and that’s Thameslink’s trouble they think it does they’ve been vague in regards to what services would be running and yet we’re supposed just accept it and move on and not to question it?

Peoples lives are being upheaved, and commenting about it isn’t moaning, you need to think of the bigger picture and not just about the shiny new train set but people’s mental health and stress levels have gone through the roof, so don’t sit there and say “Get over it” because until we get a decent response to Rail-Gate 2018, we shan’t.

 

[extendedpaul]

Thank you @bramling and others who have actually shown consideration to the situations faced by those who live outside London, I don’t mean to sound like I’m speaking for Medway, but I am echoing what my fellow commuters are saying to me, some people don’t understand that, once again thank you.

Now I understand that Medway has options, it doesn’t take a genius to work that out, but those options are only worthwhile if your a regular user of them or need that specific route, one size does not fit all and that’s Thameslink’s trouble they think it does they’ve been vague in regards to what services would be running and yet we’re supposed just accept it and move on and not to question it?

Peoples lives are being upheaved, and commenting about it isn’t moaning, you need to think of the bigger picture and not just about the shiny new train set but people’s mental health and stress levels have gone through the roof, so don’t sit there and say “Get over it” because until we get a decent response to Rail-Gate 2018, we shan’t.

Here's just one example of how the change in services is affecting occasional rail users of Medway. Details are "third party" from a phone call I received from an elderly (76) friend earlier this morning.

He had a hospital appointment yesterday. Goes there twice a year. Nearest station London Waterloo. Previous journeys have always been direct from Gillingham to Waterloo East. Gets taxi from there.
First problem was that he did not know there were no longer direct trains. I suspect that applies to a lot of people in Medway who don't use trains frequently.

At Gillingham he was advised to take the High Speed train to Gravesend and change there as the next two Thameslink trains were both cancelled. He said he did this but was worried because he noticed his ticket said that it was not valid on HS1. Fortunately the conductor walked through and reassured him. At Gravesend he says the only London-bound train showing was a Victoria service. He was advised by another passenger to catch that and change at Dartford which he did.

He said he had to use stairs to cross the platforms at both Gravesend and Dartford though I'm sure there are lifts. Arrived at Waterloo about 15 minutes later than expected and stressed out. Says his blood pressure was higher than usual when checked - not surprising in the circumstances. Three trains and two changes for a previously direct journey.

Return journey was better as there was a Gravesend service from Waterloo but again the Thameslink was cancelled and he caught the High Speed to Gillingham.

I deliberately make no comment, merely report the facts as I understand them

 

[bramling]

Here's just one example of how the change in services is affecting occasional rail users of Medway. Details are "third party" from a phone call I received from an elderly (76) friend earlier this morning.

He had a hospital appointment yesterday. Goes there twice a year. Nearest station London Waterloo. Previous journeys have always been direct from Gillingham to Waterloo East. Gets taxi from there.
First problem was that he did not know there were no longer direct trains. I suspect that applies to a lot of people in Medway who don't use trains frequently.

At Gillingham he was advised to take the High Speed train to Gravesend and change there as the next two Thameslink trains were both cancelled. He said he did this but was worried because he noticed his ticket said that it was not valid on HS1. Fortunately the conductor walked through and reassured him. At Gravesend he says the only London-bound train showing was a Victoria service. He was advised by another passenger to catch that and change at Dartford which he did.

He said he had to use stairs to cross the platforms at both Gravesend and Dartford though I'm sure there are lifts. Arrived at Waterloo about 15 minutes later than expected and stressed out. Says his blood pressure was higher than usual when checked - not surprising in the circumstances. Three trains and two changes for a previously direct journey.

Return journey was better as there was a Gravesend service from Waterloo but again the Thameslink was cancelled and he caught the High Speed to Gillingham.

I deliberately make no comment, merely report the facts as I understand them

It’s just as bad north of the river - try making a local journey like Hitchin to Arlesey. It’s now a lottery as to how long the journey may take, likely to be affected by cancellations, late running and/or recovery measures like non-stopping.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Here's just one example of how the change in services is affecting occasional rail users of Medway. Details are "third party" from a phone call I received from an elderly (76) friend earlier this morning.

He had a hospital appointment yesterday. Goes there twice a year. Nearest station London Waterloo. Previous journeys have always been direct from Gillingham to Waterloo East. Gets taxi from there.
First problem was that he did not know there were no longer direct trains. I suspect that applies to a lot of people in Medway who don't use trains frequently.

At Gillingham he was advised to take the High Speed train to Gravesend and change there as the next two Thameslink trains were both cancelled. He said he did this but was worried because he noticed his ticket said that it was not valid on HS1. Fortunately the conductor walked through and reassured him. At Gravesend he says the only London-bound train showing was a Victoria service. He was advised by another passenger to catch that and change at Dartford which he did.

He said he had to use stairs to cross the platforms at both Gravesend and Dartford though I'm sure there are lifts. Arrived at Waterloo about 15 minutes later than expected and stressed out. Says his blood pressure was higher than usual when checked - not surprising in the circumstances. Three trains and two changes for a previously direct journey.

Return journey was better as there was a Gravesend service from Waterloo but again the Thameslink was cancelled and he caught the High Speed to Gillingham.

I deliberately make no comment, merely report the facts as I understand them

I’m sorry For your friend, I hope he’s feeling better, this is just one of many people who have been affected in the timetable change, people just see shiny new trains to North London and don’t think about the people who relied heavily on the old timetable.

 

[NorthKent1989]

You may have heard of crosstalk which opens soon which will be an easy change at farringdon which is why you get thameslink. So fire all your 'looking at the big picture' you seemed to have not looked at this

It’s called Crossrail and why would anyone change at Farringdon when Abbey Wood is literally the first Crossrail stop Medway commuters will come across?

 

[NorthKent1989]

It’s just as bad north of the river - try making a local journey like Hitchin to Arlesey. It’s now a lottery as to how long the journey may take, likely to be affected by cancellations, late running and/or recovery measures like non-stopping.

But this is not a universal issue though is it, we all need to be patient.

It’s called Crossrail and why would anyone change at Farringdon when Abbey Wood is literally the first Crossrail stop Medway commuters will come across?

Again with being patronising, the poster you quoted made a typo