ANGRY commuters in Petersfield are stepping up their campaign against cramped 'bus like' trains after a specially commissioned report gave them a clean bill of health this week. Protesters have growing support from pressure groups and councils, and East Hampshire MP Michael Mates has also added his weight to the campaign. Hundreds of Petersfield, Liss, Haslemere and Liphook commuters using the Portsmouth to Waterloo line joined the 'no450' campaign earlier this year. They claimed that the replacement of the new roomier 444s with the cramped 450s, which had less leg room, fewer toilets and no tables, was "the biggest scandal since the privatisation of the railways". And last March they packed a rail users' meeting in Petersfield led by campaign founder David Habershon to put their case to chairman Brian Keefe and South West Trains group manager at Portsmouth Mark Dunn. Following the publication of the train health and safety report this week, Mr Habershon dismissed it as a whitewash. "They have given themselves a clean bill of health with a study paid for by them," said Mr Habershon. "My main concern is that nobody who has been affected by back problems has been contacted by the study, the passengers have not been asked for their views, and the problems of back strains and not enough leg room have not been addressed. "Basically, this is a political issue and we are not getting any further with South West Trains." He added: "In the past the railways were run by the government, then they were at the mercy of the unions, now they are at the mercy of shareholders and big companies who are only interested in profit. "The way ahead is to get more passenger consultation at the franchise stage because at the moment shareholders and big companies are ignoring what passengers want. This is the clear problem we have identified." He said commuters were being driven away from the trains and back into their cars because of inadequate and uncomfortable trains. "They are voting with their feet," said Mr Habershon, "and this is just what the government doesn't want. They are trying to encourage people to use public transport more not less." Campaigners want the high-density, suburban rolling stock banned from the Portsmouth line. They say the trains were designed for urban routes and are "totally unacceptable" for the one-hour journeys (and longer) made by commuters from the Petersfield area every day. Protesters say the new, comfortable 444 Desiro trains were replaced with the older, cramped 450s without consultation or publicity. The only reason given by South West Trains, they claim, was that overcrowding on the line made it necessary to provide more seating on trains, but protesters say South West Trains hasn't provided evidence to justify this claim. Mr Habershon said the health and safety report followed hundreds of formal complaints to South West Trains from passengers suffering from sciatica and other back-related illnesses attributed to the cramped and narrow seating in these trains. "While the report covers the medical aspects of the cramped conditions in the class 450 trains, little mention is made of seating space which has caused a high volume of complaints from regular passengers." Mr Habershon said the report failed to address the lack of leg room, particularly in the window seats where passengers were forced to place a foot on the heater panel, so twisting the spine and encouraging an unnatural slouching position. No450 campaign leader Mr Habershon pledged to continue the battle against the 450s. He said it was supported by many groups, as well as East Hampshire MP Michael Mates and Lib Dem MP for Portsmouth Michael Hancock. Mr Mates said: "Mr Habershon is absolutely right. These trains were designed and put into service for suburban services and by no stretch of the imagination is the Portsmouth to Waterloo line suburban. "South West Trains has changed the specification and changed it in the franchise without any consultation and without the public knowing in order to make more money. "I have written to the government and will continue to press them so that next time there is proper consultation and all parties must know all the facts about the franchise before it is agreed." Stewart Palmer, the managing director of South West Trains, said: "It establishes that the seating on the 450 is comparable to that provided on other similar train types for similar journey times, and falls within the general best practice guidelines. The report finds no evidence that the 450 seating poses any threat to health. "While I sympathise that some passengers may still have some concerns about the comfort afforded by the class 450 trains compared to the class 444s, I hope this report puts their minds at rest with regard to health concerns."
