I am pleased that Southeastern Railway have confirmed to me that there are no plans to remove the all-day High Speed service to Deal, Walmer and Martin Mill.
Several constituents have contacted me in recent months, concerned about possible reductions in our High Speed rail services. I am also keen to ensure that we don’t see any reduction in these vital rail services for our area.
Due to the reduction in passengers on the rail network, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, services to our area have been reduced since March. As our economy gears-up and the threat of the virus slowly decreases, rail services have gradually been returning to normal, as people steadily return to using public transport. However, this has meant a reduction in off-peak High Speed services to Deal, Walmer and Martin Mill – with the service running at peak times.
I did not want to see this become the new normal, so I contacted Southeastern to make sure this didn’t happen.
I am pleased that Southeastern have confirmed that “there is no intention to remove the all-day High Speed service to these stations in the longer-term”.
They also tell me that they are hoping to step-up services again in the early Autumn, which should see the return of many more services, including the High Speed services.
This is welcome news for our area. We do not want to see any reduction in High Speed services, as they are so important for us in our corner of Kent.