Transport secretary Chris Grayling promises no 'degradation' of Maidstone train services as high speed campaign rolls into Westminster

The federal government's transport secretary has guaranteed Maidstone's train services to the capital will not be downgraded in the next rail franchise - but critics remain skeptical as worries continue to grow locally that the County Town is being left in the dark.Chris Grayling consulted with Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant earlier this week after some 1,500 individuals signed our petition versus propositions to scrap high speed trains from Maidstone West to London St Pancras.Bidders are instead being offered the option of running a service to Abbey Wood, however computations estimate these will be longer than the existing 52-minute high speed path which runs 3 times each weekday early morning and evening.Helen Grant at the launch of Maidstone's high-speed service in 2011. In a letter to Mrs Grant following the meeting

, seen by our sis newspaper, the Kent Messenger, Mr Grayling stated: "First of all I

wish to assure you that the proposal for the south eastern franchise intends to put the guest at the heart of the new franchise, including those from Maidstone- modifications will only happen where it delivers an enhancement for passengers."Let me be clear, there is no intention to introduce degradation to today's level of service through the franchise competition.Transport secretary Chris Grayling"The option of an

Abbey Wood service shows that the Thameslink services will end up being the concept service to and from Maidstone and the city from December 2019."However, critics explain the proposed Thameslink service has actually currently been delayed a number of times, and some fear it may never materialise at all after it emerged the Department for Transportation asked possible franchisees how they would respond if the introduction of the service was"postponed indefinitely ". Liberal Democrat councillor James Willis said: "This is a positive action as an outcome of strong campaigning, but there's still an enormous amount of unpredictability triggered by the delay to the Thameslink service. "We require additional guarantee from the secretary of state both on that and on

the high speed services which are popular with the commuters. Actions are much better than words."Click here to sign our petition.

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http://kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/transport-secretary-makes-rail-pledge-159860/

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