Ann Widdecombe with the Maidstone Area Rail Users Group outside Maidstone East Train station. Picture by:Matthew Reading

by Alan Smith

ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk

Campaigners fighting to prevent the abolition of fast trains to the City are getting some high level Parliamentary support.

Ann Widdecombe, MP for Maidstone and the Weald, met members of the Maidstone Area Rail Users Group (MARUG) at Maidstone East on Thursday, July 23, to pledge her support.

Southeastern is planning to withdraw off-peak services to Cannon Street from December, a move that could have devastating implications for commuters from Bearsted, Maidstone and West Malling.

Laura Cloke, chairman of MARUG, said: "Miss Widdecombe has been a great help, taking the concerns of Maidstone residents right to the top with a meeting that she and Sir John Stanley attended with the rail minister.

"Whatever the outcome of the next few weeks with regard to the Cannon Street service, the fact still remains that Maidstone has one of poorest services in the region.

"Our next step is to make sure that in all future decisions Maidstone is given some priority and that all options for improving the service are explored."

MARUG is currently conducting an online survey of rail passengers to establish the travel patterns of commuters so that a better service can be provided in the future.

Miss Cloke said: "Rail travel needs to become a priority in this region. It is clear from what people have been telling us that many of them are making unnecessary car journeys so that they can get to a station that has a good service, increasing traffic on the roads and contributing to air pollution."

Sir John Stanley, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, has been showing similar support for the campaign. He was at a meeting at the Malling School, called by Tonbridge and Malling council, and attended by both South Eastern and the West Malling Rail Users Group.

Sir John said: "These proposed cuts would have extremely serious consequences for a great many people.

"Passengers would be forced to travel via Victoria, adding perhaps 45 minutes to their journey each way. This is simply unworkable for some of my constituents, who have to fit work around child-care arrangements."

Sir John was convinced there was a far greater demand for the Cannon Street service than Southeastern was claiming.

He said: "I happened to travel on the 11.05 Cannon Street survive from West Malling the other day - there were 54 people aboard, not the 15 that South Eastern has quoted.

"The real demand for this service is substantially greater, because no account has been taken of those passengers who go elsewhere to catch their train, because of the poor service on this line."

The MPs are to take the evidence of demand collected by the rail user groups to the rail minister on August 12. Those travellers who have not yet completed the survey can visit www.keepourtrains.com