New connections could take passengers in Huntingdonshire beyond capital
Huntingdon Railway Station, - Credit: Archant
Railway passengers travelling from Huntingdon and St Neots could soon be able to travel beyond London if proposed changes are given the go-ahead.
Great Northern operator Govia Thameslink has announced plans that could see the service, which connects Huntingdonshire to the capital city, extend to include Horsham, in West Sussex.
According to the company, the proposals will provide commuters with direct trains into and across London to relieve congestion on the underground.
Charles Horton, Govia’s chief executive, said: “Our networks are some of the busiest and most complex in the world. Passenger journeys have doubled in recent years, the fastest growth in the UK. Sitting still is not an option.
“That’s why we’ve been hard at work, delivering the transformation needed. By improving tracks and stations, introducing new trains and adding more destinations, we’re making sure our passengers’ railway is fit for the future. We are still in transition but the work is nearly complete.
“We started our consultation in the autumn – one of the biggest ever conducted – and we’ve listened and taken on board where possible passengers’ views on the new routes and developed weekday timetables for final comment. They’ve been designed with reliability at their heart, offering new direct routes across London and more seamless journeys.”
The new service from the district could also include Gatwick Airport, Crawley and London Bridge.
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As a part of the changes, it is proposed that there will be an increase in trains passing through stations, which will go from 10 to 12, resulting in four trains per hour from 7-9.59am.
However, it is not all good news as, unlike the current timetable, half of these trains will stop at Kings Cross and the rest will terminate at Finsbury Park.
The proposals come after a dossier of complaints from passengers highlighting their outrage at the firm’s services was presented to the company’s passenger services director.
The dossier, complied by MP for Huntingdon, Jonathan Djanogly, raised concerns about the “fall in standards and decline in the service”.
If the changes are backed by commuters and industry bosses, they could be implemented by December 2018.
