There had been plans to reduce the number of services between Hastings and the heart of the city from 2009, leaving fewer trains that were slower and more overcrowded. Senior councillors from both Hastings Borough and East Sussex County Councils recently met with representatives of Southeastern, the train operating company responsible for running the service, to discuss this issue. Vince Lucas, the Commercial Director of Southeastern, said that after looking at the numbers of passengers on the line, the trains were now safe from being cut.
Councillor Peter Pragnell, Leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: "This is good news indeed. We are in the middle of a major regeneration programme for Hastings, and good, fast links to the city are vital. It would have sent out all of the wrong messages if the rush hour service between Hastings and Cannon Street had worsened, and to be faced with fewer, slower, more overcrowded trains would have been totally unacceptable. I am very pleased indeed that Southeastern agreed!"
Councillor Matthew Lock, Lead Member for Transport and Environment at East Sussex County Council, is also very positive: "We had an extremely good meeting and were very pleased with the result. Indeed, we were even told that the Hastings line would gain an extra fast service in the rush hour to and from Charing Cross from December 2009, which is marvellous.
"And, of course, it is not just Hastings that benefits from this good news, but all of the stations on the line throughout East Sussex, including Battle, Etchingham, and Wadhurst."
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