It's
"South Worst Trains" as Strategic
Rail Authority figures show major deterioration
in service
Official
figures
show that
in punctuality
terms South
West Trains
has become
"South
Worst Trains".
The deterioration
is such
that it
is nearly
a better
than even
chance that
a train
will not
arrive on
schedule.
The
figures
for October
to December
2001 show
that the
service
has only
59.7% of
trains are
arriving
on time
and for
peak travel
the numbers
are worse
at 54.4%
A South
West Train
at Chiswick
station.
In
the period covered by the
report South West Trains
was the worst performing
train service in the country.
One
regular user of Chiswick
station said, " I'm
sure the figures mask a
much worse performance
for the suburban lines
like the Hounslow Loop.
The fast trains always
seem to get priority."
The
figures are likely to provoke
a bitter response from
many Chiswick residents
following recent comments
from Hounslow Council that
they pay higher CPZ charges
because of "generally
better" transport
links.
The
award of a new franchise
does commit South West
Trains to increase the
regularity of the service
through Chiswick before
2004. South West Trains
also have the biggest commitment
to order new stock of any
of the train operating
companies.
South
West Trains claim that
the volume of trains going
into Waterloo makes punctuality
difficult as the station
has a bottleneck on entry.
Do
you have
a
view on
the the
service
at Chiswick
Station?
Use our
pages to
express
yourself!
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