Latest News.

Rail Professional comments section - January 2012.

Please click here to see a recent comment by a Portsmouth to London commuter.

Tim Shoveller Interview in Rail Professional magazine.

Please click here for a recent interview with SWT's new Managing Director, Tim Shoveller.

Happy New Year to all our supporters! - January 2012.

Railways have been big in the news this month with the unwanted fare rises. In parallel No450 has continued vigorously to fight the battle for removal of unwanted blue trains on the Portsmouth mainline.

You may have seen the DfT and SWT announcements about providing additional trains to bolster SWT London suburban services – http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extracapacity.aspx. Regrettably this does not benefit Portsmouth direct line passengers one bit.

A major concern to Portsmouth passengers is the apparent attitude of the new SWT Managing Director, Mr Tim Shoveller, who started work this week. His interview with the magazine “Rail Professional” can be found here. Many of you will share annoyance at how dismissive he is of the Portsmouth 450 issue. It doesn’t seem the right attitude for a commercial business manager to take with his customers. Incidentally his comparison of the Class 450 with previous VEP slam door stock is completely erroneous as 2+3 seating was used on very few Portsmouth services. This campaign has no objection to Class 450 trains – in the right place on suburban services of less than 30 minutes, ie - not beyond Guildford!

Mr Shoveller seems more focussed on his own career than the needs of Portsmouth rail passengers. It doesn’t bode well for the future of rail privatisation and Portsmouth's rail service.

The No450 Campaign is interested to hear your views, and advice on how we should tackle this together. Email us on info@no450.co.uk.

On a brighter note, Penny Mordaunt is due to meet the new Transport Minister privately this month. The minister has been  sympathetic in the past and Penny is planning to agree action points submitted by this campaign. We will keep you posted. Penny is planning a further push in early February, so watch this space. She has included this statement in her annual report:
 
Five years after its inception the No450 Campaign continues to fight effectively for the full restoration of adequate rolling stock on the Portsmouth to Waterloo railway line. The campaign is backed by over 1600 passengers and a conclusive Portsmouth City Council survey. The strong support of Penny Mordaunt MP (Cons Portsmouth North) is hugely appreciated in the continued battle against DfT and SSWT intransigence, following her successful debate in the House of Commons in March 2011. The watertight case for appropriate passenger services, notably adequate seating, on all Portsmouth mainline services is clearly articulated on the campaign website) and is fully endorsed by 5 MPs, Portsmouth City Council, Havant Borough Council, Portsmouth and Haslemere Rail User Groups, Passenger Focus and Wessex Railfuture."

Times Article - 23/07/2011

Please click here for an article in The Times newspaper. Please note, you will be required to sign in through The Times 'paywall' to read this article.

Haslemere Herald Article - 22/07/2011

Please click here for an article in the Haslemere Herald newspaper.

Click here for the letter from Penny Mordaunt MP to the Managing Director South West Trains dated 20 July 2011

Click here for the letter from Penny Mordaunt MP to Norman Baker dated 19 July 2011

Click here for the letter from Penny Mordaunt MP to Teresa Villiers MP, Transport Minister, dated 19 July 2011

Letter to Norman Baker - 19/07/2011

Please click here for a letter sent to Norman Baker MP.

Click here for the letter from Norman Baker MP, Sec of State for Transport, to the Managing Director South West Trains dated 18 July 2011 .

Article in the Portsmouth News - 14/07/2011

Please click here for an article in the Portsmouth News.

Penny Mordaunt Press release - 12/07/2011

Please click here for Penny Mordaunt's latest press release regarding the No450 Campaign.

SWT Online Webchat

Every 6 months South West Trains management are required by their Franchise to hold an online webchat with passengers. This isn’t well advertised but each time there is a mass of complaints about the misuse of Class 450 trains on long distance routes. There are so many that SWT invariably issue a standard answer to each comment, even if they aren’t quite the same. Here is the answer they provided at the March webchat and here is the No450 Campaign response covering each point. As you can see, SWT does not have a strong case.

Don’t forget to take part in the next webchat on Thu 15 Sep 2011 yourself. Make a note in your diary now. You can usually paste in your question the day before.

Daily Mail online article - 22/03/2011.

Please click here to go to the MailOnline Article of 22nd March 2011.

Penny Mordaunt is interviewed on “You and Yours” - 21/03/2011

If you would like to listen to the full recording from 21st March 2011 you can find the direct link here.

Article in The Times newspaper

Click here to read the recent article in The Times.

PRESS COMMENT in Portsmouth News- March 2011

See Portsmouth News comment on the Commons debate. Add your comments here now.

Click here to see the full debate in the House of Commons.

Support from other Organisations

The No 450 Campaign’s aims are supported by Portsmouth City Council and Havant Borough Council The two rail groups, Haslemere Rail Users’ Group http://www.haslemere.com/hrug/ and Wessex Railfuture http://www.railfuture.org.uk/tiki-page.php?pageName=RailFuture are giving maximum priority to the restoration of adequate Portsmouth trains.

Portsmouth Rail Passenger Survey is conclusive

Nearly 1000 regular passengers between Portsmouth and Haslemere took part in a survey in March 2010 to gauge reactions about the service. The survey was conducted by Portsmouth City Council as both Passenger Focus and SWT had declined the opportunity. The results contained in the survey report entitled 'Uncomfortable Reading' show conclusively that 98.5% passengers prefer to travel in the white Class 444 trains and 74% find it no easier to secure a seat in a Class 450 train.

The Leader of Portsmouth City Council has sent the report to the new Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond MP, inviting him to a meeting in the city to discuss reinstatement of proper mainline trains. A response is awaited.

New trains for SWT

Recent railway press reports reveal that SWT is to receive new rolling stock, or rather stock currently allocated to another company. The Class 460 trains, currently operating the Gatwick Express, are to be transferred to SWT. The company is denying all knowledge of this decision and the DfT remain extremely cagey – quote “…it is for the bidders to procure the rolling stock that will deliver the level of services specified. The Department does not, therefore, direct an operator in its deployment of rolling stock on a specific route.” Watch this space.

No 450 Campaigners conduct capacity survey

Members of the No 450 Campaign have conducted a survey of spare capacity on selected peak services out of Waterloo. Contrary to SWT’s figures, the counts show an average of 170 empty seats on the 1730 and 1800 services to Portsmouth, with a marked amount of space available at the front of the trains. Campaigners have noticed that Woking passengers arriving late at Waterloo tend to board the next available fast service near the barrier and are happy to stand for the short 25 minute journey. They conclude that high density Class 450 trains are not necessary on the Portsmouth route and that longer distance travellers should be allowed to have more seating space. Overcrowding only seems to occur in the event of delays, cancellations or short train formations. Apparently the DfT and Passenger Focus take no steps to verify capacity figures provided by SWT, nor do they have a say over what rolling stock is used.