Government must ‘properly’ fund Surrey train services, say councillors

Councillors have hit back at the “nonsense” approach of the government in encouraging people back onto public transport while not sufficiently funding it.

At a full meeting of Surrey County Council on Tuesday (12 October) councillors addressed a consultation by South Western Railway to reduce services across Surrey.

Councillor Bernie Muir (Conservative, Epsom West) proposed the motion to continue a dialogue with the train companies and to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to outline the impact on residents.

Some councillors went further, however, highlighting the difficulty of pushing for more train services in the face of underfunding at government level, and especially at a time when the country is opening up again.

It was pointed out during the meeting that the consultation was not a public one, but asking for input only from key stakeholders, including councils.

Cllr Muir said Surrey roads have 66 per cent more traffic than the national average, and 46 per cent  of emissions come from transport sector, so councillors also asked how they were supposed to continue to fight climate change with fewer train services running.

Councillor Stephen Cooksey (Lib Dem, Dorking South and the Holmwoods) said: “It’s clear that one of the main drivers in reducing these services is inadequate financial support from government.

“Yet the same government claims to be promoting policies to reduce car-based journeys, which is vital if we are to meet our carbon reduction targets.

“And the same government is making determined efforts to encourage people back into the office to work and thereby increasing commuting and to make greater use of leisure facilities located in London and our larger towns.

“It’s an absolute nonsense to encourage greater and more extensive travel while at the same time being complicit in reducing the public transport facilities necessary to ensure that this is achieved in a way that allows carbon reduction policies to be successfully implemented.

“I’m all in favour of constructive dialogue but the missing participant seems to be the inclusion of the Department of Transport whose policies will in the end determine what’s possible and what quality of service can be provided.

“Government must be told very firmly that it can’t have it all ways and if it’s not prepared to find ways of funding a rail service that meets the needs of residents it policies will inevitably lead to increasing car-based journeys and undermine the huge efforts that this and other county councils are making to meet their carbon reduction targets.”

Councillor Tim Hall (Conservative, Leatherhead and Fetcham East) called it the “Yes Minister” model of consultation and said he had been disappointed in his dealings with South Western Railway.

He said: “South Western Railway’s misleading outdated model is obviously wrong if you read the consultation. The headline of a 7 per cent decrease sounds lovely until you discover in large parts of Mole Valley and Epsom it’s a 50 per cent decrease.

“This was very much the “Yes Minister” model of consultation what we say and what we actually mean don’t mean the same thing at all.”

He thanked Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell and former transport secretary, for his support at consultation meetings with the provider, among others.

He added: “It was quite obvious that South Western Railway did not know their customers. As somebody who is one of their customers regularly I was quite appalled by the ignorance of their management. They really didn’t recognise the passengers we have. ”

Councillor Clare Curran (Conservative, Bookham and Fetcham West) talked about the loss of Southern Services through Bookham, and how proposed changes would impact on residents.

She said: “What they are putting forward seems to be based on a really outmoded assumption that people work nine to five day on a Monday to Friday only. Maybe they did in the 1970s but we’re in 2021 now and working patterns are very much more flexible.

“South Western Railway are going to be flying in the face of this council and this government’s ambition for a greener future and more public transport. I really hope that they respond to their stakeholders’ input, but more importantly, how can we build back better if we can’t get anywhere?”

The motion passed unanimously.