THERE could be light at the end of the tunnel for local rail users following an acknowledgement by SWT chiefs of problems on the Alton to Waterloo line which need to be addressed.
Monday's showdown between Alton Line Users' Association (ALUA) and Stagecoach/South West Trains served to highlight the unacceptable plight of Alton and Bentley commuters. They continue to suffer from trains being terminated at Farnham, or even further up the line at Aldershot and Woking, so that SWT can avoid picking up Railtrack penalties for running late.
But, said Mr Campbell, it was made clear at the meeting that rail bosses are aware of the problem and that they are trying to sort it.
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 36 minutes.
While acknowledging that it is "early days yet", ALUA believes it would be 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 current shortage of track is affecting service reliability in a big way. I know it is down to cost but people have got to know that they can get home in reasonable time," said Mr Campbell. He added that since October last year the service had been "unacceptable" with passengers, he believed, entitled to a payback.
In fact earlier this year, chairman of the Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England Wendy Toms,was reported as giving a reluctant welcome to the Stagecoach/SWT franchise. She had added that the decision would not be popular with all passengers - "especially those who have been complaining bitterly recently about late trains and trains that stop short of their destination".
"And this situation has not yet changed," warned Mr Campbell, who pointed out that recent figures for the Waterloo-to-Alton line show that just 70 per cent of trains are running to time as opposed to the target figure of more than 90 per cent.
In addition, passengers were now having to put up with staff strikes, the third of which was scheduled for today (Friday).
"The only way for local people to get into London will be to drive to one of the major rail heads like Basingstoke or Guildford, but they may then be faced with overcrowded parking facilities," said Mr Campbell.
Nonetheless, the ALUA committee was heartened by Monday's meeting, feeling that at least Stagecoach/SWT chiefs were aware of the difficulties faced by local rail travellers and of their obligation to make improvements.