Timetable fix helps pupils get to school

Parents, teachers and students say train delays have wreaked havoc on school attendance, but timetable changes are helping ensure pupils get to school on time.

Students heading to Chertsey previously faced long waits in Weybridge when delayed connecting trains meant the choice of either a rush to board the 08:02 service, or miss the start of school.

Now, changes to how the trains run mean guards can wait for up to five minutes at the station, which schools and train operator South Western Railway (SWR) hope will mean less pupils are late.

One pupil who uses the service told BBC Radio Surrey: "We used to miss the connection at least once a week - we are missing out on revision for our GCSEs."

They added: "It [the new changes] make my school day better."

Sarah Green, a mother of a child at Salesian School in Chertsey, said: "There's wasn't enough time for them to make that connection.

"When my children were in year seven or eight I would have to drive all the way up to Weybridge to get them to Chertsey."

Changes to how the trains operate during the school run periods mean that certain services, dubbed "golden routes", will be able to wait for up to five minutes in Weybridge to ensure students do not miss connecting trains.

The changes, which are at the discretion of the guards, are possible because the trains would previously have had to wait at Virginia Water instead, due to timetabling constraints.

The campaign was backed by schools such as Salesian School in Chertsey and local MPs including Dr Ben Spencer, who said it was "great to see action now being taken", and Monica Harding, who hailed the change as a "big win" for young people in the area.

Paul Gower, headteacher of Salesian School, said: "They [SWR] have been working incredibly hard to improve performance.

"For a long time this has had a significant impact on our students - we are seeing some green shoots of improvements now."

A spokesperson for SWR and Network Rail Wessex said: "We know how important these connections are for pupils and families, so we're grateful to customers and stakeholders for their feedback, which has helped shape this change.

"This sits alongside wider improvements for customers in Surrey."

SWR said stations in the county were now using its new, bigger Arterio trains, and it had completed £129m of signalling upgrades on the network between Farncombe and Petersfield.

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