A campaign to prevent off-peak train services at Hadley Wood Station being cut by a third has gained backing from Theresa Villiers, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet.
In late 2016, Theresa met with concerned members of the Hadley Wood Rail User Group (HWRG). Although Hadley Wood lies outside the Chipping Barnet constituency, it is used by many High Barnet residents and the line links to New Barnet and Oakleigh Park stations. When Govia Thameslink Railway published its 2018 timetable, it proposed that off-peak services at Hadley Wood Station would go down from three trains per hour to two. This caused consternation among residents as bus services in the area are limited and there is currently a problem with frequent cancellations on the line, meaning that if one train is cancelled commuters could be faced with an hour’s wait for the next one.
The Hadley Wood Rail User Group have also raised concerns about the accuracy of the footfall data that justified reducing the service, as it does not take into account users of season tickets or travel cards. Additionally, Hadley Wood Station is ungated, meaning that other commuters may be using the line but failing to ‘tap out’ so their journey is unrecorded.
After discussing the matter with GTR, Theresa has raised the matter with the Department of Transport and formally replied to the GTR’s public consultation.
Theresa Villiers said: “I have not yet received a convincing reason why reducing off-peak services at Hadley Wood would deliver benefits for the rest of the line. I have responded to GTR’s consultation and am calling on Thameslink to retain the current level of off-peak services at Hadley Wood. Many residents in Hadley Wood rely on the trains and GTR are missing a trick if they reduce the number of services available.