From Watford Observer, Friday, December 24, 2004

Petition calls for improved train service

By MATTHEW WOLSTENHOLME

A PETITION calling for an improvement to Silverlink rail services has been
signed by 300 commuters.
Outraged train travellers are hoping to present the petition to rail
executives in protest against the company’s "Third World" service to Central
London.
Jane Gibbons, from Bushey, works for a graphic design company in the capital
and is furious about the situation, because she relies on the train to get to
work.
In an effort to put Silverlink back on track, she started a petition last
month and has since managed to gather 300 signatures supporting her campaign.
She said: "It was bad before, but it’s getting worse. Every day is like a
game of Russian roulette, you never know whether there’ll be a train. In the
past two months there has not been a single week when there’s been a decent
service."
After writing letters of complaint to the firm, but receiving no response, Ms
Gibbons hopes to arrange a meeting between irate commuters and Silverlink
big-wigs.
She said: "I intend to speak to some senior management about this. I’ll
storm the building if I have to. I’ve received huge support from other train
users, so hopefully we’ll be able to do something."
Ross Taylor also uses the service and is equally frustrated at the situation.
He said: "Nobody at Silverlink is prepared to listen to commuters. There seems
to be massive problems with scheduling and timetabling.
"The other day a train turned up late and there wasn’t enough room, so
hundreds of people were left standing on the platform waiting for the next one.
I imagine lots of people had some explaining to do to their bosses when they
arrived at work. "
Silverlink is confident the trains are running predominantly on schedule.
A representative said: "As far as the timetabling is concerned Bushey has a
good service.
"One thing I would say is there have been a number of problems with the
service as a whole, not only Bushey, as a result of problems with
infrastructure, which is out of our control.
"There has been too much of that in recent months. "
Ms Gibbons remains unconvinced, but did praise workers at Bushey station.
She said: "Silverlink is full of excuses, but the station staff deserve a
medal. It’s not their fault, they’ve got all these people ranting at them
and they don’t know whether a train is going to turn up or not. It’s
nothing to do with them.
"They are always friendly, helpful and tolerant and I would like Peter to get
a special mention for calling my boss and saving me from the sack on the
numerous occasions that I couldn’t get into work in the mornings."

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John Burke
WRUG