Train Travel to and from Spelthorne

Liberal Democrats care about public transport.  It needs it to be accessible and affordable.  Good public transport enables people to get out of their cars and reduce their carbon footprint.  

For many years there has been an active campaign to get Spelthorne into the Transport for London (TfL) zone 6 with Oyster / contactless payment, which would make travelling into Greater London cheaper and easier.  This is a reasonable aspiration as other Surrey stations such as Epsom Downs and Hampton Court are already included in TfL zone 6.  Councillors and activists in other Surrey boroughs are also trying to get stations such as Esher and Walton into TfL zone 6.  The Department for Transport announced recently that contactless pay as you go would be extended in December 2023 to 53 stations across the South-East including all stations in Spelthorne.  However, it is not clear whether the system will be compatible with TfL or as affordable as joining zone 6.  We will keep making the case at every opportunity until zone 6 is extended. 

Meanwhile Cllr Kathy Grant, who does not own a car, has been taking a close interest in the proposal to close ticket offices and has personally responded to the consultation.  South Western Railway’s intention is to close all ticket offices and retrain staff, who would be available at some stations for some of the time to help passengers.  In Sunbury this would mean just one member of staff available from 6.00 to 10.00 a.m. Monday to Thursday and 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. on Sundays.  On Fridays and Saturdays the station would be completely unstaffed.

People will be able to buy tickets online, use the ticket machines or hopefully contactless payment machines when they become available.  However not everyone is able to buy tickets in advance online and the ticket machines are quite difficult to use, may not show the cheapest fares, and of course they may be out of order.  Working out which buttons to press in the right order gets stressful if the train is on its way and people are queuing behind you.  For disabled people it can be completely impossible.  If you are blind you can’t see the buttons and if you are in a wheelchair you may not be able to reach them.  Most of the time there will be no staff to help elderly and disabled people, or to make the journey safer for women and young people travelling after dark.  We can understand the need for cost savings and modernisation but many people’s needs are being ignored.

Lobbying by campaign groups has led to the deadline for response being extended to Friday 1 September, so you can still have your say by emailing SWR.Consultation@Londontravelwatch.org.uk .