Passengers upbeat over new services

Southern Railway is adding an extra off-peak service to London Victoria each week.

Journeys to Portsmouth and Brighton also will be quicker with the usual change at Barnham.

The improvements take effect in the December 9 timetable.

But the direct journeys to London Victoria will take about the same time as the current service's average of about one hour and 45 minutes.

Some services will be up to six minutes longer. Others will be a few minutes shorter. The town's general pattern of four off-peak services an hour stays unchanged.

Representatives from Southern Railway spent yesterday at the town's station informing passengers about the changes. They are the most radical alterations to Bognor's train services since 1938.

They see nearly every train which serves the town moved to a different time.

Kelvin Briscoe (66), of Yapton, said: 'It's a good idea to have extra services to London.

'It's making more use of the Arun Valley line.

'When I use the trains, I find them quick and normally clean and generally on time.'

Student Steven Galloway (26), from Chichester, stated: 'The easier you can get to London the better.

'The services from Bognor are regular, to Barnham at least.

'The trains are a lot better than they used to be when they were really old-fashioned.'

A lot of interest was expressed in the changes at yesterday's station session.

About 1,000 leaflets explaining the changes were handed out by the Southern Railway staff in the first four hours of their day-long spell on the concourse.

The station is used for an estimated 2,500 daily journeys or some 800,000 a year.

A Southern spokesman said: 'People have been really pleased by the changes we have been telling them about.

'The fact that there will be two off-peak services to London Victoria has gone down really well.

'The reason Bognor's services are not quicker is all to do with demand. There is more demand for the London services from the stations heading towards Portsmouth from Barnham.'

He added that the overall impression from the town's passengers was satisfaction with the town's rail service.