THE boss of South West Trains came under fire last week during a meeting of the rail passenger committee which once again saw ALUA chairman, Chris Campbell, fighting Alton's corner.
Unable to defend past performance in the rail industry, SWT managing director Andrew Haines was keen to impress his company's commitment to improving its service to the public.
Having been criticised by the Strategic Rail Authority for overcrowding trains, Mr Haines, gave a firm pledge that SWT would be increasing passenger capacity by adding extra coaches to trains running at peak times.
To achieve this aim by 2004, SWT would, he said, be investing £1m to provide 785 new coaches which would not only add to train length but would also replace ageing slam-door stock.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Campbell said that while welcoming the news on behalf of the Alton Line Users' Association (ALUA) he was not prepared to let SWT off the hook.
Local passengers continued to suffer the exhausting consequences of trains terminated short of destination, some enduring three to four hour journeys between Alton and Waterloo, and it was "simply not good enough".
As part of the new 20-year franchise, Stagecoach/SWT has promised the reinstatement of a half-hourly rail service from Alton to come into effect hopefully from the summer 2002.
But this appeared to be based partly on a train being held at Alton station for 19 minutes.
ALUA believes that, rather than having trains standing at Farnham and Alton to wait for the single line to clear, it would be quicker and cheaper for the company to make greater use of the Bentley station passing loop. The loop was installed in 1985 on a matched-funding basis, with half coming from British Rail and the rest from county, district and town council coffers.
"Local money paid for the Bentley loop and it should be used," said Mr Campbell.
ALUA is also asking for an increase in electrical voltage combined with the reinstatement of the stretch of track alongside the Farnham carriage sidings at Wrecclesham to provide increased passing space.
The local passenger group was pleased, however, that 16 of SWT's new 458 Juniper trains were now working the Alton-to-Waterloo line, giving a smoother ride with improved on-line information for passengers, and offering good facilities for disabled travellers but not for cyclists.
The impression gained by Mr Campbell was that in future cyclists would have to leave their bikes at their home station and hire another bike at the point of destination.
On a more positive note, SWT had promised that Alton train passengers were to benefit from an improved bus link to Winchester station. ALUA was hoping that the route would be extended to Eggar's to serve both the school and people living at the Holybourne end of town.