As announced in last week’s Rye News, MarshLink Action Group’s annual general meeting will be held from 6:45pm on Friday, November 18 followed by presentations and Q&As from about 7pm.
It is a couple of years since our last general meeting so this year’s report from the MLAG committee is a view across the last couple of years from a rail perspective, a period when so much has changed in every facet of our lives (including the operation of our railway line). You can see this report here.
But the object of our meeting is to look at the Marshlink going forwards, no doubt assisted by voicing some of the recent issues experienced, aided by presentations from Southern Railways, Network Rail and Sally-Ann Hart MP.
If you have any views on your railway, do join us.
Image Credits: MLAG .
Due to a prior commitment I won’t be able to attend this meeting. For 11 years I’ve used the Marshlink between Winchelsea and Brighton and Winchelsea and Ashford/London. While the connections at Ashford have improved considerably from 11 years ago, nowadays trying to get to Brighton has become a very long journey and, worse, unreliable so connections are missed. This is stressful and can add 30 minutes to the journey. Ideally direct trains to Brighton should be reinstated as the norm, please. And hourly trains at Winchelsea would encourage more people to use the train rather than drive. Alternatively, coordinating trains arriving from Brighton to Hastings with onward buses to Winchelsea would make it easier for people to choose the “greener” option.
Hilary, sorry you won’t be able to ask your questions direct to Southern and hear their responses. But the MLAG Committee will ask the questions you’ve raised on your behalf and report back. The loss of the direct service to Brighton was a battle lost several years ago (as you will be aware) but, frankly, I don’t imagine being able to persuade the DfT to return it to us in the near future, at least before we have changed rolling stock away from diesel – there is an environmental objection to running diesel trains over electric rails (even though that is what happens between Ore and Eastbourne). A more immediate objective is to improve the reliability of services along the MarshLink: that objective is with services in both directions (so interested to read your comment that connectivity has improved at Ashford over the last eleven years). Your further comments are noted.
I hope local users of the MarshLink will be able to join the meeting next Friday to raise their concerns.
Stuart Harland
Chairman, MLAG