A RAIL users’ group is urging as many people as possible to take part in a Department of Transport competition to select a new operator for the South Western franchise from 2017.

The move comes after plans to extend South West Trains’ existing franchise from 2017 to 2019 fell through leaving the Department for Transport to launch a competition to find the new operator for the next franchise,

And the commuter group wants to see faster and more comfortable services on the Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour line, which serves Petersfield, and a major improvement in reliability of services, especially during rush-hour.

It follows news that commuters in Petersfield face a rise on annual season tickets to London of almost one per cent, the second lowest price hike in 20 years.

Commuters heading to London Waterloo will be expected to pay £4,228 from January 2, a rise of £40 on this year’s price from £4,188. The price for a season ticket to include zones 1-6 on the London Underground will rise from £48, from its current rate of £5,016 to £5,064.

A 12-week consultation to help inform and develop the franchise specification for the tender which will be issued to interested parties next April ends on February 9.

Haslemere Rail Users’ Group secretary Martin Odell said: “We have lots of points, but we will be focusing on two – one is the provision of fast comfortable long distance rolling stock for the Waterloo-Portsmouth line, and the other is a significantly higher standard of management resources than we have endured to date both for daily operations and for when things go wrong, which is often, at least once a week.”

South West Trains has operated the franchise since 2007, but the planned extra two-year agreement for when it expires in February 2017 until 2019 was scrapped in July when the Department of Transport said it would open up the bidding process for a full franchise.

The competition document published this week states: “Major investment by Network Rail coupled with the re-franchising of the South Western franchise means this is a period of significant opportunity for this part of the rail network. Transport Focus has identified overcrowding on South Western trains as a concern for passengers.

“Investment in the current franchise is providing additional passenger capacity and further investment in both infrastructure and rolling stock is planned for the period of the new franchise.”

Respondents are asked to answer a list of questions as part of the search for a best new operator. Priorities that should be included in the new franchise specification should also be flagged up along with any new objectives. Naming particular overcrowded services and routes which need additional capacity is also on the list.

The launch of the franchise search coincides with the announcement rail fares are set to rise by an average 1.1 per cent from January 2.

Mr Odell added: “On the face of it an average rise of nearly one per cent looks like good news. However, it should be seen in the light of the fact that many commuters’ incomes have not increased by that amount and prices have risen by 25 per cent since 2010.

“We are very concerned South West Trains’ response to any lack of income, will be the cancellation of even more services and/or running trains in short formation, which frequently happens during each day now. The point is they pay by track usage – the number of carriages and mileage.”

South West Trains is increasing its fares on average by 0.7 per cent.

To reduce overcrowding, it is increasing the number of carriages on some trains between Portsmouth Harbour and Waterloo, via Eastleigh, which could take some pressure off services running via Petersfield, Haslemere and Liphook.

Next year’s changes will also see the number of carriages on the 7.29am Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo service doubled from five to 10 and the number of carriages on the 4.45pm Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour service increased from eight to 12.

South West Trains managing director Tim Shoveller, who will be bidding for a new franchise, said: “Our improved timetable provides a real boost for passengers in Petersfield.

“The number of passengers travelling with South West Trains?has more than doubled in the last two decades and we now carry approximately 230 million passengers per year.

“The improvements to the timetable, combined with the major investments we are delivering across the network, will deliver a real boost for passengers.

“However, we are far from complacent and we know we can do much more to provide the extra capacity which is needed to provide for the increasing number of passengers on our services.”

Extra capacity is also being introduced on the Alton and Farnham line.

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