Dear Sir
Thanks for your info which is I am sure very useful.

Can you please assist on one point.

Recently got a Freedom Pass. I thought starting time at Sydenham and Forest Hill was 0930.
Staff at both stations say 0900 and the oyster machines accept the cards.

This would have been the end of the discussion except others tell me that overground are still 0930 but the Oyster Machines only register your exit , say at Croydon ot London.
Is it you must not arrive before 0930 , or is it free at any time after 0900 , whatever time you arrive st Dest.
Thanks

Brian,

The correct time is 09:30

Some of the gateline arrays dont currently have the correct software installed on them to recognise this and therefore will be opened by the cards - however this is being addressed.

for further clarification please see

http://www.freedompass.org/whentouse.htm

Hope this helps,

Duncan

Duncan,

It's a very positive move seeing your presence on this forum, as I'm sure that you can see that your passengers joining from Forest Hill are a far from satisfied lot.

Taking your 'think like a passenger' motto, my overriding thought when I use Forest Hill station is given the massive usage of the station (as you know one of the biggest outside of central London', what LESS could you be providing in terms of station facilities?

A short list:

1. Long queues for tickets most mornings.
2. Unstaffed for long periods at night.
3. Limited shelter on the platforms, given these are often full in the mornings - not helped by the poor reliability of the trains during the morning peak.
4. Only one way in and out for several weeks forcing passengers to cross over the footbridge - which has been both unsafe and inconvenient for those with limited mobility - yes I'm one of the people often with a buggy and two year old - its no fun. No step free access on the down platform at all.
5. The platforms often have ponding water during wet weather.
and to top it all 6. The station building itself is an eyesore.

I'm sorry to go on, but I've lived in Forest Hill for ten years, and I have to say that the paucity of the train service, and the state of the station has been of real concern for many years, and Southern has made no real attempt to address its problems.

It would make my day if you are able to tell me that Southern has a plan to deal with these concerns.

Les,

Sorry to hear about your displeasure with Forest Hill station and the performance of the train service. i will try to address your points as best i can.

Regarding the station being an eyesore. Due to the station becoming the property of LOROL and the east london line in september Southern will not be doing any improvement works. The Station buildings themselves are owned and maintained by network rail but it would be up to the TOC to suggest improvements. i have been "in charge" of Forest Hill for the last 7 months and have seen the implementation of the hanging baskets and bike sheds but we havent been able to complete any building work. This is the same for shelters and any other improvement works the only additional bits we can do at the moment is Paint Jobs. However i have been to a few meetings regarding the construction of lifts at the station however this is in its very early stages and i wouldnt be able to give you a date on when this work will take place if it does.

The side gate has been closed (perry vale) due to our contractors completing works so that CUBIC can install new gateline arrays, cctv and ticket vending machines - we are now waiting for CUBIC to come and complete the works and dont have the manpower to man the side gate as before however this is considered on a weekly basis and where possible we will endeavour to do so.

Train performance has been very up and down since the introduction of the new timetable in december and completly agree that it hasnt really been acceptable but believe me we are working to improve this as much as we can. Overcrowding on your part of the railway is alos a major issue Southern uses all the stock it currently has which we know isnt quite enough but people at all levels are aware and again we are working on it but there are no easy or quick solutions

Reading that back it doesnt come across as positive or customer friendly. Unfortuatly we are in a position where we soon lose though stations so spending money isnt really an option however if you do encounter any problems at the station such as ponding etc please make one of my members of staff aware or me and we will deal with the problem as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Duncan.

Duncan
Thanks for your comprehensive answer re Freedom Pass.
This is not the same as the info given at Sydenham .

Someone has also told me when the ownership of the stations changed in Sept then Freedom passes will be able to be used 24/7, again seems to be a lot of confusion re overground and passes.

Do you know when the Perry Vale entrance with new machines will be opened?

Thanks

Brian,

i will brief the staff at Sydenham so they have the right information however there own discression may mean that they still allow people with freedom passes through the barriers and on to the platform - However freedom passes are only valid after 09:30 on southern services.

In September this will be subject to change as the east london line is operated by LOROL/TFL and freedom passes are valid at all times on TFL services.

All abit messy i know.

we have completed our side of the works on the perry vale enterance and our now waiting for CUBIC to installed the gateline arrays, cctv and ticket vending machines but there is no date as to when. we have no plans to open this gate at the moment due to manpower issues however is it considered weekly when the rosters are created and if we can we will man it.

Many Thanks,

Duncan

Brave man, Duncan. Thanks for coming on.

Many thanks Duncan.
May I say that contary to some other posters I have always found the booking office staff at Forest Hill very customer friendly

Had CUBIC completed their work you would be staffing these gates. Before 1st November you were staffing the Perry Vale entrance. So why do you suddenly not have the manpower to staff this entrance?

Ian Rashbrook, Stakeholders Relation Manager for Southern has said that:

I understand that is can be difficult to prepare staffing levels weeks ahead, but you should have been expecting to staff these gates from 1st Feb, when the work was due for completion.

Michael,

The side gate was manned by temporary staff from a seperate company who we have had to cut now due to the financial climate.

If we had staff available we would man it and as i have said we do consider this when drawing up the rosters during the week.

Many Thanks,

Duncan

But this is totally contrary to the commitments made by Southern to local passsengers, to the FH and Sydenham Societies and to Lewisham's Mayor. That commitment at FH was to open the gate until TfL took over in September.

It simply isn't acceptable that your can now renege on those commitments.

If you can't afford the staff, open the gate and leave it open.

Barry Milton

Southern certainly don't think like their mobility challenged passengers!

If they did they would appreciate how unacceptable it is to keep the Perry Vale entrance closed unnecessarily forcing those with mobility issues, the elderly, people travelling with children and/or luggage to struggle up and down 2 lots of stairs.

So much for the assurance from Southern to Forest Hill Society that the entrance was to be reopened!

I assume when the machines are installed the exit/entrance will only be open if it is personned. I understand these machines cannot be used if not.
If that is the case where are the staff to come from when they are installed and what will be different to now.

These are remote access gates - they are designed to be accessible by passengers without a member of staff being in attendance. This does not mean that you shouldn't expect a member of staff to be there at certain times - rush hours for example. But it would be entirely unrealistic to expect staffing throughout an 18 hour day, seven days a week.

The approved planning application makes it clear that the gates will be accessible from September whenever trains are running. From September TfL take over running local stations and Oystercards come into operation. TfL have made it abundantly clear that they will staff local stations throughout the times that trains are running i.e from c6am to after midnight.

When TfL take over, problems of access will ease. In the meantime, we need a degree of responsibility from Southern to their passengers.

Thanks for explanation.
I was surprised to see the Sydenham Gate on the up platform open this morning with no one in attendence.

Is it the good citizens of SE26 are believed to be more honest than the good burghers of SE23.

If one opened why not the other.??

Given that I have seen a number of young men vault the wall by the cab office in Forest Hill to avoid paying a fare I would say he is right.

The continued closure of this gate and the conflicting messages from Southern are a disgrace, and a severe health and safety issue for everyone who uses this station, not just those with access or mobility issues who are probably just not using it any longer.

As they can clearly continue to fund the presence of several Revenue Protection officers let them open the Platform 2 gate and assist passengers as well as check tickets.

Personally speaking I very much resent having to spend additional time and money travelling to and from Sydenham as it is nigh impossible to use Forest Hill to go south with a buggy. I have to catch a bus to Sydenham Station from FH and if coming back from London I have to go an extra stop, walk around and catch the train back up. This adds around 45 minutes to each trip. I also forgot to buy a return via Sydenham last week so was threatened with a penalty fine when I got out at Sydenham.

Why should people have to pay extra just because they have some special need, such as disability or have to travel with a child? This is surely discriminatory.

Why is there no firm date for Cubic to complete the work? Probably because the budgets have not been agreed and I suspect that someone is having trouble trying to eke out some money due to conflicting end of year spending priorities.

It is now time to involve Jim Dowd MP who did such excellent work on this a few years ago and/or our friends at the South London Press.

Given that someone living on that side of the tracks would have to wait ages for the privilege of getting up those stairs and detouring all the way round, I wouldn't be surprised if the people vaulting the fences were perfectly legitimate travellers.

I am sure they are. I am just ashamed that I am no longer as fit as I was or I would be vaulting said wall and subs be damned.

They seem to have put a number of new fences up and barbed wire but if people are still vaulting over they seem to have wasted their ( our ) money.
Perhaps they could employ the builder of the defences at Colditz.

Re the good lady who gets the train to and from Sydenham. Surely this station is just as unfriendly for the handicapped. They both have bridges. Although , as I pointed out , the Sydenham side gate on the up platform seems to be open most of the time.