Southeastern

Southeastern compensating Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Martin Mill and Dover Priory passengers after sea wall collapse shut down services
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date 1 February 2016
source Southeastern
type Press release

Southeastern has today (1 February) announced plans to compensate passengers at Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Martin Mill or Dover Priory whose travel arrangements have been impacted since the Dover sea wall collapse on Christmas Eve.

In summary Southeastern will:*

Refund the difference in cost between mainline and high speed fares for any National Rail tickets valid from the mentioned stations and purchased from 24 December (this excludes the Travelcard portion of the ticket).

Give all season ticket holders (weekly or longer) from the five affected stations a 20% refund on the cost of their (National Rail) mainline fare. This will be backdated for January, and continue until further notice.
Passengers renewing or purchasing tickets are advised to purchase a mainline ticket, which will be valid on all high speed and mainline services until further notice.

Compensation claim forms will be available for collection from Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Martin Mill and Dover Priory stations.

David Statham, Managing Director at Southeastern, said: “While we’re doing all we can to help passengers to complete their journeys whilst Network Rail work to repair the track, we know this closure has caused a lot of frustration and inconvenience. This compensation is in recognition of the loss of (direct) high speed services and extra journey times for these passengers.

“As soon as the line closed, we moved as quickly as possible to introduce an emergency timetable and I am pleased we’ve since been able to provide a direct high speed service to and from London via Ramsgate in the morning and evening peak. We’ll continue to work on what we can do to provide more journey options whilst the line is closed.”

Charlie Elphicke, MP for Deal and Dover, added: "This has been a very difficult time for rail users. So it's right and welcome that passengers will be compensated. The direct train to St Pancras is making a difference. We now need Network Rail to confirm how long it will take to repair the sea wall. I am doing all I can to see our rail line fixed as quickly as possible."

Network Rail senior programme manager Steve Kilby said: “I realise how frustrating it is for passengers to have their journeys disrupted and we are working as hard as we can at Dover to get a final design in place for repairs. This week has been very stormy on the beach and our guys have been working through tough conditions.

“We’ve got 15,000 tonnes of rock down on the shingle to protect the railway from the heavy seas and we will eventually have more than 70,000 tonnes in place, all delivered by boat. That’s more than 3,500 lorries of material, just for the beach at Dover.”

For more information on the services available at Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Martin Mill and Dover Priory and compensation arrangements please visit southeasternrailway.co.uk/your-journey/dover-line-closure/compensation/

-ENDS-



For further information contact:

Southeastern Press Office

Ph: 0207 620 5080 (24-hours)

Email: press.office@southeasternrailway.co.uk

Website: www.southeasternrailway.co.uk



Notes to editors:

*Further compensation information:

· All special arrangements detailed here relate only to passengers travelling to or from the stations of Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Martin Mill or Dover Priory to stations beyond Folkestone or Ramsgate.

· Proof of purchase will be required, and compensation against tickets of a month or longer will be compensated on a monthly basis via cheque. For tickets that comprise a London Travelcard, compensation will be calculated against the rail only element of the ticket.

· Claims will be processed from February and will be refunded to passengers via cheque. For monthly, weekly and daily tickets a form should be completed when a new ticket is purchased. Season tickets of a quarter, six months and longer need only complete one form. These arrangements will remain in place until train service levels change.

· Any passengers who have purchased a high speed ticket either from another retailer or directly from Southeastern such as via a Ticket Vending Machine can apply for a refund of the high speed supplement (this excludes Travelcard portion of the ticket).

· Exact details of how to claim are outlined on the form, which should be completed and handed in at a ticket office or sent to Southeastern customer services for processing.

Background information:

Track closures mean that Southeastern is unable to operate the normal timetable, only running an interim service via high speed service via Ramsgate into London in the morning and one back in the evening peak. A replacement bus and train shuttle service is in place to connect passengers to other services at other stations where London bound trains are available. Folkestone West car park will be free to all passengers with tickets from Dover Priory, Martin Mill, Walmer, Deal or Sandwich.

Major damage to the sea wall, on which the railway sits, was first discovered on Christmas Eve last year, but has since deteriorated further. Network Rail engineers recently confirmed that a number of sink holes have appeared two or three metres deep along the length of the wall. Major work will need to be carried out to repair the track and the sea wall will also need to be rebuilt. Designs for the new wall are in progress but the railway is expected to remain closed for a substantial time.

Example: The cost of a monthly season ticket valid on high speed services from Walmer is £595.60 and the cost of a monthly season ticket, not valid on high speed, is £497.70.

For more information please visit: southeasternrailway.co.uk

About Southeastern:

Southeastern runs train services into London from Kent and East Sussex, operating over 2,000 trains a day, carrying more than 640,000 passengers a day, serving 176 stations and covering 540-miles of railway infrastructure.

Southeastern is owned by Govia, a joint venture between the Go-Ahead Group (65 per cent) and Keolis (35 per cent). Govia is the most enduring partnership between transport operators delivering rail franchises in this country.

It is the UK’s busiest rail operator, responsible for 28.7 per cent of UK passenger rail journeys through its four rail companies, Southern, Southeastern, Govia Thameslink Railway and London Midland Further information on Govia is available at: www.govia.info

Go-Ahead Group plc is one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport services operating in the bus, rail and aviation services sectors.

Keolis is a French-based operator of transport services in 13 countries worldwide and is owned by SNCF, AXA Private Equity, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and Keolis management.

Railhub Archive ::: 2016-02-01 SEA-001