| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply | |
| Posted by: | Mark Evans | |
| Date/Time: | 20/08/25 09:06:00 |
| Michael, it is notable that you so often end up arguing against public transport improvement in Chiswick. Two points on this issue. A abled bodied colleague lived in the Grove Park area pre-Covid and we worked together near Blackfriars. He didn't use the services from Chiswick station to get to work because he said that they were always full to bursting by the time they arrived. Post pandemic we have lower overall passenger numbers and much greater capacity with the introduction of the Arterio change. Usage patterns take time to change but gradually more people will tend to move to the Grove Park area now that South Western is providing a viable service to commute into town. Secondly, on the 'conspiracy theory' but forward by Francis as to the reasons why Chiswick is an inaccessible town. The facts speak for themselves but I would add that part of the reason is that so many of the local stations are liminal and sit on or close to borough boundaries - Chiswick Park, South Acton, Turnham Green and Stamford Brook. I think this makes MPs and councillors a bit wary of campaigning too hard for upgrades, whether for improved accessibility or otherwise. On Turnham Green specifically I think there is an opportunity because there seems to have been a shift in attitude to TfL towards the station. They have recently been keeping it open during District Line engineering works and earlier this week Piccadilly line trains have been stopped during one of the regular District Line signalling failures. It wasn't me that made the request on this occasion but I always make a request to station staff to ask for the Piccadilly line train to stop. In the past the answer has been 'no chance' or grudging compliance but most recently the response was 'what an excellent idea' and annoyance from the staff member when the request was declined. Straws in the wind maybe but I do think that a bit of political pressure could bring about baby step timetabling changes e.g. Piccadilly trains stopping from 9:30pm rather than 10:30pm in the evenings. A barrier to getting any change may be that representation of station users is by both Tory and Lib Dem councillors and two different Labour MPs and they would need to coordinate effectively to make any progress. |