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Rail Services (Chilam)

The Petition of residents of Chilham Parish Council. Declares that South Eastern Railways and the Department for Transport plan to reduce train services at Chilham station. The Petitioners therefore request that request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that South Eastern Railways agree to continue to provide a minimum of two trains an hour at peak times and an hourly service at off-peak times and weekends at Chilham Station: provision of a full train service will avoid the increasing use of cars on already overcrowded and dangerous local roads, avoid exacerbating traffic management problems, avoid increasing pollution and avoid detracting from the vibrancy of Chilham as a centre for rural tourism, business and living. And the Petitioners remain, etc. —[Presented by Damian Green , Official Report, 9 June 2008; Vol. 477, c. 133.] [P000207] Observations from the Secretary of State for Transport : The proposed changes to rail services from Chilham station from December 2009 are part of a major recasting of the timetable which also sees the introduction of domestic high speed services between London and Kent. In the original service specification, which was published by the Strategic Rail Authority in a Stakeholder Briefing Document in January 2005, Chilham was to have a total of six trains in each direction in the morning and evening peak periods but no service off-peak or at weekends. Currently, the service from Chilham is generally hourly in the off-peak and at weekends. During the morning and evening peaks, there are two trains per hour in each direction. It was recognised that some of the assumptions underlying the original service specification had changed in the time since its publication. Southeastern therefore reviewed demand for rail services in Kent during 2007 to ensure that the December 2009 timetable matched current customer demand. Southeastern now propose some changes to the service specification for December 2009 to align services more closely with the demand levels identified by their research. Under the terms of their Franchise Agreement, Southeastern must consult stakeholders on these proposed changes and the Secretary of State will take account of the consultation responses when considering whether to allow the changes to be implemented. Southeastern have advised the department that they propose to provide an hourly service from Chilham during the off-peak and at weekends. This is additional to the original service specification and in line with the aspirations of the petitioners. Consultation will take place later this summer and once this has been completed decisions will be made on the detail of the December 2009 timetable.