Southeastern Railway was blasted at a council meeting last week after it refused to back down from controversial South London timetable changes.

Last month, Southeastern Railway announced changes to its current timetable that meant most trains on the Woolwich and Bexleyheath lines would no longer end at Charing Cross.

From December, passengers will now need to change at London Bridge to access Waterloo and Charing Cross stations.

At a transport meeting for Greenwich Council on October 20, Steve White, the managing director for Southeastern Railway, said that the planned timetable was “hardwired in” and cannot be changed because train operators had already agreed to it.

The rail representatives also said that those who travel to work five days a week were “in a minority”, and their 2021 report showed punctuality and reliability were shown as being more important to customers than comfort or the length of their journey.

In response to the boss’s statement, Councillor Lauren Dingsdale said: “What worries me about the rationale you’ve given is that I can understand punctuality and reliability are incredibly important, but you haven’t asked if people would prefer that to having Charing Cross taken away from them.”

Scott Brightwell, operations and safety director for Southeastern, said sticking with the current timetable “was not an option” because it was not “sustainable” and wouldn’t “deal with future growth”.

Cllr Dingsdale also said that areas in Kent sitting in Conservative constituencies, such as Maidstone, had seen increased services under the new timetable.

She said: “Just so that we’re all clear in this room, because this is a Labour borough and there are three Labour constituencies here, is it the case that all the winners from the new timetable are Conservative areas and all the losers are Labour seats?”

Mr White said that Southeastern would never design a timetable “to that effect”, and that the Maidstone service is part of a commitment to Thameslink.

When asked about why the changes were not communicated sooner, Mr Brightwell said the announcement was interrupted by the appointment of Liz Truss as prime minister and the mourning period for the Queen.

The representatives from Southeastern also encouraged locals in the area to make use of the new Elizabeth line service from Abbey Wood.

However, Councillor Matt Hartley said that the December timetable removed access for residents in his ward to the Greenwich station.

He said: “Had you conducted a consultation, I don’t think you would have come here saying the Elizabeth line is a game changer.

"The Elizabeth line is not a game changer for my residents in Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham.

"We’re so far south, the ward is practically in Bromley.”

Ruth Dodson, chair of the Charlton Society, said changing at London Bridge was “nasty” and “difficult to navigate”, especially for those with mobility issues.

Ms Dodson said: “To be honest with you, I feel less happy now than I did when I came in. I have not been reassured at all by anything you guys have said.

"You are not supporting those of us that commute up to town.

"Charing Cross is my end-of-line service, I don’t understand why you are not allowing us to still use that.”

In response to the concerns, Mr White said: “We will reflect on the feedback you’ve given us.

"Tonight I can only describe to you why we have made the changes that we have made, what we hope to achieve by those changes and be honest about the impact it has, and how we want to ensure that the changes at London Bridge are robust, safe and effective for you.

"But I acknowledge I am asking you to change trains when today you don’t have to do that, and for that I am sorry.”

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