Thameslink

Oyster update

No, not an oyster bar. But Oyster contactless is – possibly – coming to Radlett station this Summer

In November last year Oliver Dowden, our MP, announced the extension of the Oyster scheme to Radlett (in fact the extension is taking Oyster all the way out to Luton Airport Parkway but he’s taking credit anyway). A few weeks later various media outlets, including the Watford Observer, confirmed the news. Early this year we got right on it and began a (slightly tiring) countdown on our Twitter account. Actually, we were counting days since the announcement, so it was more of a count-up. Then, a couple of months ago we caught sight of newly printed TfL maps (thanks to Marc Edney in the Radlett Village Facebook group), apparently showing Radlett within the Oyster zone. We got excited and stopped our count-up, expecting Oyster to arrive any day.

Obviously we should have been a bit more circumspect. Months later Oyster is still not here. So, we pulled on our gumshoe hats and got in touch with the TfL press office. They passed us onto the Govia Thameslink press office and they have provided us with a statement, which reads:

“We’re working with Transport for London and the Department for Transport to have Oyster and contactless card payment facilities available at Radlett this summer.”

So that does at least seem to confirm that this should be happening this Summer. I asked if they could give us any sense of the likelihood of this actually happening or any kind of timing and the spokesperson added:

“Transport for London are continuing to install and test the equipment and software systems at Radlett, and we expect them to confirm a completion date shortly.”

I think we’ll start our count-up again. It’s now been 208 days since Oliver Dowden and the Department for Transport told us Oyster was coming. By the end of the Summer it’ll be another 60 days or so. Do you think they’ll make it?

(incidentally, I also asked Govia Thameslink about the tube map showing Radlett inside the Oyster zone but that, apparently, is a question for TfL. I’ll ask them).

More change at the station

UPDATE: The consultation on these plans has begun. Read the plans on the Thameslink web site (or read the summary below) and email your comments to stationchanges@gtrailway.com. You can also send your views to London TravelWatch or Transport Focus.

In summary: Thameslink plans to close the ticket office but the station will be staffed for longer.

Radlett’s ticket office will close and passengers will buy tickets from the machines or from a new ‘station host’.
Radlett’s station host will be on duty from 0500-2300 Monday-Saturday and 0700-2300 on Sunday.
Station hosts will answer questions, sell tickets and help passengers with the existing machines.
The station hosts will also keep the toilets and waiting rooms open for longer.

Govia, the firm that operates the Thameslink, Gatwick Express, Southern and London Midland lines, is planning changes at about 80 stations across its network, from Summer 2016.

According to Govia’s statement, they’re going to close some ticket offices, change opening times at others and move staff from behind the glass to the new role of ‘station host’.

These are complex changes across many stations but, on the face of it, the outcome looks positive for Radlett – there’ll be someone on duty at the station from the first train until late at night. Here are some of the questions people have been asking, on Facebook and Twitter:

What will be the effect on queues at peak times?
Will the portable ticket machines used by the station hosts sell the full range of tickets, including school children’s six-week season tickets, tickets for other networks, Eurostar etc?
Where will the station hosts spend their time – in the concourse, on platform 1 or elsewhere?
Will the ticket office still be available for use at very busy times?

If you have other questions, leave them in the comments below and I’ll see if I can get answers direct from Thameslink.

A three-week consultation on the changes starts on Monday 22 February. Here’s how to get in touch and here’s a detailed table of affected stations.

Thameslink and TfL – respond to the consultation

So here’s what we know. The Mayor of London and the Government want a new partnership between Transport for London and the Department for Transport to improve London’s transport network. According to the published proposals, TfL will take over the inner-suburban railways – but that doesn’t include Thameslink and the other outer-suburban lines.

So it doesn’t look great: Thameslink will probably remain outside the integrated London system and the patchwork of commercial franchises will continue to run the long-distance commuter services. The plans are fairly vague, though, and they’re out for consultation. So, here’s what to do: read the plans (PDF), then write to railprospectus@tfl.gov.uk and tell the partners that Thameslink and the other suburban railways should be included in the plan.

And, if you’d like to know more about the proposals and the history, read this excellent long post on the London Reconnections blog.

Transport for London and Thameslink – oh dear

A couple of weeks ago we learnt, from an Evening Standard article, of Department for Transport plans to hand control of London’s suburban railways to Transport for London. According to the report, this would include Thameslink and all the other London commuter lines. We all got a bit excited about this.

Whatever you think of Transport for London, handing responsibility for the commuter lines to London’s strategic transport authority makes perfect sense. An integrated urban transport network for Europe’s biggest city – underground, buses, overground, river boats, bikes and roads – ought to include the suburban railways. Even if we did have to wait for the current Thameslink contract to expire in 2021, it looked like a change to be welcomed.

Sadly, the Evening Standard got it wrong.

Thameslink’s press office weren’t able to confirm the story but Transport for London gave me the bad news:

Rail services that are already contracted by TfL include a number of destinations outside the London boundary, such as Watford, Cheshunt and Shenfield. The Thameslink line to Bedford is not part of the scope for the inner suburban routes.

(my highlight)

So the plans don’t cover any of the outer suburban lines. It seems implausible, but the haphazard patchwork of franchises that serves London’s suburbs is somehow still thought to be viable for a 21st Century city and will persist. Sorry.

There may be some hope, though. This press release, from the Mayor, says:

The proposals – on which views are being sought – would see the transfer of rail services that operate mostly or wholly within the Greater London boundary to TfL when the current franchises are due for renewal.

(my highlight)

If ‘on which views are being sought’ means there’s a consultation planned, then I’d anticipate a torrent of contributions from suburban rail users asking for their lines to be included. The consultation hasn’t begun. Watch this space.