On the basis that a week is a long time in politics and anything could have happened to the Budget or ministers responsible for its contents between the time of me writing this column and the time of you reading it I had probably better stick to constituency news!
‘Train week’ ended with a packed public meeting at the Shoreham Centre and I am grateful to all those constituents (and those from further afield) who came to give Southern and Network Rail a tough time. There were a wide range of problem areas covered but certainly nobody there was convinced that the closure of local ticket offices will lead to an ‘enhanced customer experience’ as they promise. There were some particularly impassioned please from people with sight impairment.
The consultation has now closed and we expect a recommendation from Transport Focus imminently but it is particularly frustrating that we still have not been given the data on which the decision was made to close Shoreham and Lancing offices and Worthing other than at peak time.
Another particular annoyance was the practice of ‘skipped stopping’ which routinely leaves many passengers sailing through their scheduled stop as the train tries to make up lost time and then struggling to get home especially late at night. I have had complaints from students missing lessons and commuters unable to attend work commitments because of this. Again I have asked for hard information to see whether local stations are being ‘skipped’ disproportionately on the south coast line. I have put a podcast on my website about the meeting.
Last week I also had a meeting with the head of Civil Aviation Authority to discuss the implications of the latest accident report into the Shoreham air Show tragedy. It is likely that we could have the final report in the next couple of months or so and I am reserving judgement about who or what was at fault until then.
Given the demand for public debate about the EU referendum I have arranged 2 further ‘Talk to Tim’ meetings open to all constituents – April 9th 2.30 at All Saints Church Hall in Findon valley from 2.30pm and Southwick Community Centre on April 23rd from 2pm. In addition local organisations are arranging various open debates on the EU which I will be participating in. And don’t forget my Pensioners’ Fair at the Guildbourne Centre on the morning of April 22nd.