On June 28th 2017, Great Northern – run by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – proudly announced that commuters from Hitchin were about to receive a boost from a new forthcoming train timetable. What has happened since has been a unmitigated disaster. We all know things are bad, but just how bad are they? New data reveals that the situation is exceptionally bad, to the point that Hitchin has the worst train service in Britain (almost).
Indeed only a handful of minor stations have been found to be worse than Hitchin, yet Hitchin is the 171st busiest station in the entire country, so its poor performance is especially disruptive.
Of the 2,608 railway stations in the United Kingdom, Hitchin is ranked as the 2,604th worst in terms of performance over the last 4 weeks. Prior to the introduction of the new timetable on 20th May, Hitchin’s services were very average (ranked at around 1,500).
Looking at neighbouring stations it is clear that the situation is not exactly great anywhere locally, but also that Hitchin has been disproportionally impacted. Notably this is the case in general with the new timetable (if it worked) – both Letchworth and oddly Ashwell & Morden seem to get a much better service in terms of fast trains at least. When I met with Govia management recently they urged me to get people to push the Hitchin & Harpenden MP to lobby hard. They pointed out that Oliver Heald MP (NE Herts) has been very active on this front.
There are a number of key times of day where the service at Hitchin is notably substandard, especially in the seven days prior to this blog being posted. The first of these is the very early morning service window, used by key workers such as those in the NHS, Police and, rather ironically, train drivers.
Looking at the above figures, sourced from like all the stats in this post from ontimetrains.co.uk it is clear that the 0507 & 0534 almost never run, and the 0526 has a 20% on time rate. This can mean a huge gaps in services for many. The coloured squares next to the service give details of the last seven days of running for a particular service, green means it ran on time, black means it did not run at all. Red is for severely delayed and grey means no data (probably didn’t run).
Moving on to the commuter morning peak and the situation is frankly appalling. The 0633, 0711, 0730, 0734, 0834 all barely ever run at all. Almost every other service is regularly delayed. The 0741 and 0811, mostly run, but are never on time. All of this can lead to severe overcrowding, and while the situation has not got quite as bad as it was at Harpenden recently where things got dangerous, and St Albans where the station had to shut out commuters, it is probably only a matter of time.
Things are not much better on the way home either with a significant number of cancellations. Even the trains that run on time have major punctuality issues which can be very detrimental personally and financially for working parents who have to pick up children at 1800 in Hitchin. As for travelling from St Pancras? I wouldn’t bother trying.
Taking a look at the late night services there are some days where things are ok but on others there can be vast gaps in the service, leaving people stranded for hours. This is a major issue as at times where Hitchin has no trains Letchworth will be served by a number of direct fast services. I am pushing for GTR to add Hitchin as an additional stop to those late night fast services to Letchworth. This will not help those waiting at the less than lovely Finsbury Park unfortunately. St. Pancras – again, hardly seems worth trying to get the train from there late at night.
FINSBURY PARK
Many people travel to and from Finsbury Park in the morning and evening, due to its good links to the City. Performance from Hitchin to there is predictably bad.
WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED?
The reasons for this terrible performance have been dealt with extensively elsewhere, such as in the widely shared and excellent piece by Nigel Harris in Rail magazine recently. In short though the DfT (headed by Chris Grayling) pushed through a programme which would in theory improve service through the London core, which meant that many trains from Hitchin would have to pass through a new section of tunnels in London (The Canal Tunnels). The problem is the tunnels were delivered with insufficient time to train enough drivers to drive through them. But DfT and Govia Thameslink Railway decided to carry on regardless, and that has resulted in the issues we face today. A far more detailed explanation can be found here: Holy Grails and Thameslink Fails
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
Over a month has passed since this farce began and the lip service from Conservative MP’s in the commons benches is wearing rather thin. The recent vote of confidence in Chris Grayling really highlighted the contempt the likes of Bim Afolami and Anne Main have for their constituents. Things have not improved, and in some cases have actually got worse. What is needed is action, we need a train service that works and we need it now.
What can be done about it? Well if you are a Hitchin commuter join the Hitchin Commuters Group on Facebook: Hitchin Commuters Group Protesting at Hitchin station, or waving banners around is not going to get a better train service, if you want to be effective make you voice heard where it matters, DfT and Govia HQ. It is crucial to complain about every single issue. Small or large.
WHO DO I CONTACT TO COMPLAIN AND TRY TO GET THIS SORTED?
Here are some contact details – direct all complaints to:
Bim.afolami.mp@parliament.uk
NorthHertsSam@gmail.com
Don’t forget to log them with GTR too:
GTR Complaints & contact details
Claim delay repay:
Delay Repay
If you’re unhappy with the reply to your complaint ask transport focus to look into it: Transport Focus rail complaints
If there is a concern about overcrowding add these two people to the complaint:
Linda.mccord@transportfocus.org.uk
ian.prosser@orr.gov.uk
Sharing this article and a link to the commuters Facebook group on Twitter to inform others. Use the @GNRailUK tag to include Great Northern in your tweet and @NHDCLibDems tag so we can promote your complaints further.
I will continue to fight for a better train service, so please keep me posted, and I will do likewise. Follow me on twitter @NorthHertsSam or get in touch with me directly northhertssam@gmail.com. I have already been very active on this issue, meeting with GTR management and getting them to agree to a public meeting in Hitchin, raising the issue with peers who have raised questions in the House of Lords. I will continue to work with GTR, Peers, Members of Parliament and commuter groups in Hitchin, Harpenden and other areas with common issues. I have tackled smaller issues like the information screens at St Pancras which do not currently show services to Hichin (I’m still pushing to get Hitchin added to the screens above the ticket gates). I have raised the issue of Carnet tickets and the disparity with those available on the Thameslink line, and there is much, much more to come! I want Hitchin to have a decent train service, not just because I love the town and want the best for it, but also because I use the trains all the time like everyone else (well those who don’t have an £1,800 taxpayer funded pad in London that is)!
northhertssam.com 