Extracts of an open letter to Chiltern Railways.

I WISH to complain about the recent timetable changes that are affecting my journey from Seer Green to London Marylebone. I have complained in writing and in person on previous occasions but my grievance appears to have fallen on very deaf ears.

My complaint is such: before the upgrade work and subsequent timetable changes, I, together with many Seer Green residents, had the option of catching three trains in the morning – the 07.17, the 07.30 or the 08.04 to get me to work in Central London by 9.00. Post timetable changes, this has been reduced to just two trains – the 07.19 and the 07.51.

I face a similar predicament with my return journey. Pre-timetable changes, I had the option of catching the 17.51, the 18.12 or the 18.40. Now, there is the option of the 17.43 – which means leaving work 10 minutes earlier – or 18.25! How can a gap of over 40 minutes be acceptable in rush hour?

In summary, not only have you reduced the frequency and service on offer to villagers, but you also seem to have reduced the number of carriages on each of the services mentioned above.

Passengers now struggle to get a seat, and if the trains are delayed, which seems to be a frequent occurrence at present, the problem is even worse.

However, despite this reduction in service, there is no reduction in train fares.

Fares will no doubt rise again in January, so in effect residents of Seer Green and Jordans, and probably numerous other village stations along the line, will be paying more for a vastly reduced service. How is this justified?

Chiltern Railways claims to offer a service that is both convenient and offers value for money – however, as I’m sure many of my fellow passengers would agree, the service we all receive is neither of the above.

This is not the first time I have complained. Indeed, I have voiced my concerns on Twitter, by email and in person, but to no avail. I have been told that you are looking at timetable changes and taking passengers’ views into account, but when exactly is this going to happen?

Train fares are already incredibly expensive on this line, and significantly more expensive than other comparable fares.

A return from Amersham, which is further out of London than Seer Green is just £14 return, compared to £16.50 per day return from Seer Green and Jordans.

If you can’t offer a comparable service in terms of frequency of trains and value for money, travellers will be forced into their cars and onto the road in order to find a more efficient service. Surely, this defeats the object of having a village train station in the first place as it will only add to local congestion and pollution.

Having spoken to fellow commuters and villagers, I know that I am not alone in my complaint.

I also note that you are holding conferences for disgruntled passengers over the coming couple of weeks.

Surely, if the number of people complaining requires you to address complaints in this fashion, you need to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

,Emma Diskin, by email