Local Transport - Buses

Route 166: Pressure continues for stops in Carshalton Road for Oaks Park. Not yet successful.

Route 404: Efforts continue to achieve a Tollers Lane estate service.

Route 405: Frequency will increase to 15 minutes from September. Later buses between Croydon and Redhill are under consideration.

Route 434: Travel London have offered CWRA and ESTC a site meeting to try to reduce teething troubles when they take over the route with 3 brand new buses on 30 August; this has been accepted. London Buses do not want to divert the route via Coulsdon South station as they are considering extending Route 463 there.

Route 866: An extension has been proposed to give the Netherne estate an initial service.
The over-60s, with valid Freedom Passes, are now able to travel free on any local bus service in England, not including National Express or other long-distance coaches. Beware! Local restrictions may apply to non-residents. Also, some councils are pleading poverty, so may not support this scheme, even if they should. Who will be the first to travel from Land's End to Hadrian's Wall, free, on local bus services? Not me!

London Buses Travel Info: 020 7222 1234 (24 hours)

Website: www.tfl.gov.uk/buses

Comments, complaints and suggestions: 0845 300 7000 (8 - 8 weekdays)

Important News for Freedom Pass Holders

You may be aware that all Freedom Passes which have not yet been renewed show the expiry date 31 March 2008. We have been advised by TfL that London Buses, London Underground, Tramlink, DLR and London Overground have all been advised that Freedom Passes, that have not yet been re-stickered for 2010, should be accepted until 31 May 08. They have briefed their drivers and staff.

Road Safety

Woodcote Grove Road bridge rebuilding will involve an extra weekend road closure, dates to be announced. Completion is still due by 1 October. Town Centre improvement work is expected to start in December. A Thames Water flood relief scheme will affect the Chipstead Valley Road area near the Smitham allotments and the Murco Garage for a while but after the bridge rebuilding. Transport for London's Streets department are unwilling to restore the audible pedestrian crossing signal at the junction of Chipstead Valley Road with Brighton Road owing to the presence of a rear access road that has always been there! Aldi are expected to replace the gates in their hoarding with a permanent barrier. Roads are to be resurfaced, and road markings replaced on the 434 bus route in the Rickman Hill area.

Public Transport - Trains

At our AGM, Roger Lanham, Southern Railway's facilities liaison manager, informed us of Southern's achievements, plans and proposals for our train services. He also entertained us with stories of his early days with British Rail, followed by Connex. It was a reminder of the improvements that have been made since and how we soon take them for granted. Train performance was record breaking in the 4 weeks to 26 April when Southern achieved the best ever results on the network with 9 out of 10 trains arriving on time over the past year. Southern are close to finalising their proposals for the timetable, starting in December 2008, after lengthy consultations before and after publication of the rail utilisation strategy. We will have more trains and longer trains to provide extra seats. Please see the next CWRA Newsletter for details. CWRA has continued to participate in consultations through the East Surrey Transport Committee (ESTC), in meetings with Southern representatives and in writing. Consultation has begun on proposals for the new 5-year South Central franchise beginning in September 2009. As before, Southern will be competing with other prospective train operator companies to win the franchise, by trying to make the most attractive bid to the Department for Transport. Coulsdon South: Current services are improved, with summer Sunday London Bridge - Redhill trains until 7 September. Trains to London Bridge are at 12 minutes past the hour, those to Redhill at 38 minutes past. The public toilet will be refurbished and re-opened in the autumn. Smitham footbridge lifts should be operating by the end of July following a delay. A petition from residents and other users of this station is being prepared to ask Croydon Council to provide direct pedestrian access to the northbound platform from Windermere Road. The council needs to show a significant demand for this in order to persuade Transport for London to release the necessary funds for the work. The original pedestrian access was lost with the construction of Farthing Way, the Coulsdon Bypass, resulting in a much longer walk and many steps to negotiate. Disabled and elderly people are most affected. Woodmansterne: Off-peak tickets should be available without difficulty after departure of the 0906 train. Mitcham Eastfields station has opened on the Sutton - Mitcham Junction line which should be accessible in proposed changes to bus route 463 from Coulsdon. National Rail tickets should be reduced to just three types after September: the Anytime ticket will replace ordinary single and return tickets; Off-peak tickets will replace cheap day return and saver tickets; Advance Purchase is similar to now but restrictions are brought in line with those for the most restricted tickets. There are no changes to season tickets, travelcards and Oyster. National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50 (24 hours) Website: www.nationalrail.co.uk Southern Customer Services: 08451 27 29 20 Website: www.southernrailway.com Comments, complaints, compliments and suggestions: contact the East Surrey Transport Committee (ESTC) by email: estcomm@waitrose.com
National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50 (24 hours) or www.nationalrail.co.uk