Recent history

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

As I understand it, the trains will be using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and although I don't know where they will join this, it does seem to suggest that the Medway Towns will be by-passed.

[cliffc]

Commuters have been travelling from the Thanet stations for decades of course and I commuted from Whitstable to London in the late eighties and early 90s. You need to be made of strong stuff, and be on a good salary, to put up with day in day out commuting. Four and half years was enough for me and my journey time was around 75 minutes each way. A Thanet station would have been the straw that broke the camel's back in my case.

I doubt very much that the new hi speed trains will make any real time difference to the north east of Kent. Travelling times to Victoria from Whitstable are around 80-85 minutes on the current service and two hours to Ramsgate from Victoria. Sure you might benefit if you need to travel to north or east London but not by a great deal. South East Trains need to cut out some of the stops around Medway or north Kent if they're going to compete on times - which I very much doubt they will.

Those best placed to save any time on the new Hitachi trains - and yes they are very impressive, having seen a couple out on manoevures lately - are travellers living in Ramsgate, Canterbury, Ashford and Maidstone areas, not Margate, Birchington, Herne Bay or Whitstable people.

BTW did you know in the immediate post war years, people living in London were encouraged to move to our parts of Kent by being given a subsidised red X annual season ticket to the capital? Great idea, what happened to it I wonder?

Hi Nick

I am glad I dont have to Commute to london from the outlying counties every day I have to drive into work from where i live as the public transport to where is almost non existiant at the time I need to be here for, but 3 hours on the work day traveling no thank you, It takes me about 20 mins max eachway 40 mins I can do and of course the pace of life is much slower up here in the North East. We both like london and try to vist every year but the thing I dont like is the pace, everybody seems to be almost running every where.

I did know about the subsidise travel but only because we went to the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden and thay have a whole section on the post war plans to encorage more people to move out the counties round London, it was a fasanateing thing, and as I work of one of the compaines who provide support to the place we got in for free. But i would add the place is well worth the entrance fee as you can spend a good few hours in there looking round.

Cliff C

[Nick Evans]

Hi Cliff,

Funny you should mention the museum at Covent Garden - went there in late March to see it all. Most impressed!