howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
he seems to have got this one wrong, dover and deal commuters are benefitting contrary to his assertions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-16029642Its the North Kent lines that seem to have suffered since the HS came into use . Im not looking forward to the Olympics when the High Speeds wont run from Dover or Ramsgate as they are being used as shuttles between London and Stratford. The services will only run from Ashford and Faversham inorder to enable this change .
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the issue was on local news earlier as said above north kent commuters are getting longer journey times.
about time we got the better of things down here.
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,706
The man is an idiot - he clearly does not understand the tube network either - the City is 3 stops from St Panc, the West End 2
He also seems to ignore the fact that the Faversham High Speed rush hour services are at least 80% full
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 730- Registered: 5 Nov 2011
- Posts: 221
It's great service if you live where it actually stops, I've used it loads of times. The real loser down here is Deal though, they have a much worse service now. I know there a few trains in the morning and evening now, but that's not much use if you want to go to London for a day out.
Guest 697- Registered: 13 Apr 2010
- Posts: 622
It is really important that we do not allow some of these negative stories to give the impression that the HS service is of no benefit. IT IS! We need to maximise the opportunities of having the UK's only high speed rail link. It has the potential to revitalise the economy in East Kent. Yes, we're in difficult times, but more must be done to create some wealth from this service. Of course, the media likes to focus on the bad news and there are clearly some timetable issues. However, if we allow this negative tone to continue, it will be another reason for potential inivestors to go elsewhere.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i wouldn't worry too much about coments from mr gale, he likes to get in the news.
everyone knows that our part of kent has benefited enormously from the high speed link.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Im just fearful that this kind of talk which was featured on the BBC yesterday is extremely damaging. It is a very well used service in my neck of the family woods. There was talk before that the service isnt guaranteed to last forever so talk from Mr Gale is damaging..he gets listened to sadly. We dont want the service taken away.
Guest 697- Registered: 13 Apr 2010
- Posts: 622
Couldn't agree more, PaulB. I chaired a working group as part of the East Kent Local Strategic Partnership at which I kept banging the drum for more to be done to promote the introduction of high speed rail services. There is basically a window of about four years in which to reap the benefits of such a service. I am still not convinced that enough is being done to promote East Kent as a place to do business. We've been crying out for better rail links for years; now we've got it, we need to promote it. The only thing I ever hear in the media is about poor rail services. We're in danger here of blighting our reputation again. I know money is hard to come by, but there really does need to be a concerted effort to promote East Kent to potential investors.
Guest 656- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 2,262
Oh dear! let us hope that Mr Gale's comments don't get taken too seriously, the HS is an absolute asset to our part of Kent. I have many friends who have opted to work in London since the HS came to Dover. The higher wages outweigh the train costs and as Ross says above the tube network for the city and west end is easily accessible.
We use it every time we go to London to see family and friends. They do some great deals too if there are a few of you travelling together

Guest 660- Registered: 14 Mar 2008
- Posts: 3,205
Alan Taylor from Dover message on Meridian,do we know him?
If you knew what I know,we would both be in trouble!
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
I like HS when work pays for it, but at the weekend it is toooo expensive. £35/40 each to go up to London for the day. Last weekend we drove up to Woolwich in about an hour (about £10 in fuel), £5 to park and a couple of £11 day River Ferry tickets and made a huge saving !!
As we woudl have had to drive to Dover or change trains there wasn't much difference in time either....
Been nice knowing you :)
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,706
I use it every day to get to work - saves me roughly 80 minutes a day in travel time over the main line service via Tonbridge.
Kings Cross St Pancras is a major tube station with 6 lines passing through it most places people want to go are only a couple of stops away.
Much as I do not necessarily want to promote Southeastern - if there are more than 2 of you travelling off peak why not take advantage of this offer
http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/destinations/group-save-discount/"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi