South London locals and councillors have slammed Southeastern Railway bosses for reducing train services in their borough, saying areas will feel more like “Kent villages” than London stations.

Southeastern Railway announced last September that trains on the Bexleyheath line will now only go to Charing Cross during peak hours.

Passengers are being told that from December, off-peak and weekend trains will only go to Cannon Street, with commuters being instructed to change at London Bridge to get to Waterloo and Charing Cross stations.

At a transport meeting for Bexley Council on Tuesday, November 8, Steve White, managing director of Southeastern Railway, said that 6per cent of trains across the Sidcup, Woolwich and Bexleyheath lines will be reduced in the December timetable.

He said this was due to a 40pc decrease in demand for these lines in the year leading up to last September.

Speaking on the lack of public consultation before the new timetable was announced, Councillor David Leaf said: “You had ample opportunity to make the public aware.

"And you would have had ample opportunity to engage with key stakeholders, like the council, like the members of parliament, the very people who are filling your inboxes with complaints, probably as we speak at this moment.”

The councillor also called the data describing the 40 per cent decrease “grossly misleading”, saying there had been lockdowns and lingering fears about Covid during the timeframe the data was based on.

In response, Mr White said that passenger numbers for all services were also down by 33pc from April to June of this year.

He said: “We haven’t taken 40pc of the trains away, we’ve taken 6pc of the trains away.

"And we are literally trying to balance the subsidy from the taxpayer with the amount of trains that the current demand requires.”

Under the new timetable, Albany Park station will only see two stations an hour going to central London during off-peak times and weekends.

Councillor Daniel Francis said: “People there really feel that going to a two-train-an-hour service, certainly during off-peak, makes it seem like a Kent village.”

Scott Brightwell, operations and safety director for Southeastern, said that their data showed Albany Park is not used heavily outside of peak times.

In response, one local called Mr Brightwell’s statement “absolute rubbish”, and said Albany Park is “the station that always seems to lose out”.

He said that the station has been down two staff members for years, and rarely sees any rail workers at the ticket gates.

The resident said: “Day in, day out, and I travel during all different peak periods and off-peak periods, people just walk through that station.

"They don’t blip in, they don’t blip out.

"They don’t need to, because there’s no staff there for that to happen. And if that’s how you’re getting your data, then it is very, very inaccurate.”

In response, Mr White said that the company is talking to trade unions about ways to better staff their stations.

He also said that aside from users tapping in, Southeastern uses weighing equipment on their trains to count how many passengers are using a service.

He added: “One of our commitments is that we have to keep our gates closed most of the time.

"And at the moment, we’re not achieving that to the level that we need to. And there’s too many people travelling without paying.”

At the end of the consultation, Mr White said he would be meeting local MPs and the rail minister to discuss the new timetable.

He concluded by saying: “Thank you all for your questions this afternoon and thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our thoughts with you.

"We do genuinely welcome all your feedback. Some changes will be possible, though we do want to hear specific problems.”

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