Tonbridge Line Commuters have been very active in the past year in campaigning against the very high costs of train travel from West Kent. This has resulted in a partial victory for TLC as season ticket prices have risen by 5.9% in West Kent when the minimum rise expected was 8% and was feared could be as high as 13%. A summary of all the work that TLC have undertaken in this area is given below:
- In August we collected 500 signatures from Tonbridge and Hildenborough stations as part of the Fair Fares campaign. More information about this campaign can be found on the Campaign for Better Transport website.
- TLC have raised our concerns at various transport and railway meetings organised by Kent County Council and Southeastern Trains.
- TLC have been active communicting our concerns to local government officials. At a Rail Forum held in October TLC presented research outlining our concerns on high fares in West Kent.
- TMBC have used this research to help lobby the Department for Transport and the railway industry as reported in Kent Online.
Tonbridge Line Commuters would like to thank all those who signed the petition in August, as well as Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for their support of our campaign. We would aslo like to thank our colleagues at Sevenoaks Rail Travellers Association who we have been working with to campaign against high rail fares in West Kent.