Together with Stephen Trigg and Antony Simm of the Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users’ Association (RRDRUA), Crispin Blunt MP, President of the RRDRUA, yesterday met with the Rail Minister, Paul Maynard MP.

The Minister was challenged regarding the reduction of services on the Redhill/Reigate line and the development of the 2018 timetable.

There was a robust, detailed and lengthy discussion regarding the higher fares faced by commuters from Redhill, Reigate and other local stations, compared to passengers travelling on tickets from Gatwick, Three Bridges, Dorking and Oxted, let alone Coulsdon South and Caterham within Transport for London (TfL) Oyster Zone 6. For example, an annual season ticket from Oxted is 14% cheaper than from Redhill and from Coulsdon South and Caterham some 47% cheaper.

The complexity of fares, which confuses travellers and often means they do not travel with the cheapest fare possible, was also raised as a particular problem as people travelling with Oyster do not always get the cheapest fare and people travelling with contactless sometimes get charged different fares.

The Minister provided an update on his efforts to introduce a simplified and transparent fare structure, utilising the potential of smart ticketing and contactless technology.

Crispin Blunt said:

“We had a constructive and detailed discussion with the Minister, who listened carefully to the specific concerns outlined by the Rail Users. He recognised why the anomalous fares structure on the Redhill/Reigate line causes frustration and committed to removing anomalies wherever possible. The Minister explained the work he has commissioned to look at fairer fares, using the flexibility that contactless payment affords.

“The local rail users and I again pressed the case for zonal fares to be extended, but we were informed that there was resistance on the part of TfL to negotiate Oyster zone extensions before any proposals can be put to and approved by the Government. We maintained that, at an estimated cost of up to £4 million to extend Zone 6 from Merstham to Gatwick, it was eminently affordable given the level of revenue the Department for Transport gets from fares, as well as compensation payments from Network Rail for planned and unplanned disruption. Indeed, extending Zone 6 to Horley and putting Gatwick, as the most used station, in a Zone between 7 and 9 would reduce any cost yet further. Our contention remains that, given the experience of fare simplification on the London Underground, these changes could even be revenue positive. We look forward to hearing more details about the Minister’s plans as soon as they are ready.”

Stephen Trigg, chair of the RRDRUA said:

“Over 4 years of campaigning this was the third Minister we have seen and we are pleased he accepted our premise that the Fares Bump in Redhill was fundamentally unfair. He was the first to have plans to find a solution and we look forward to meeting again in a few months when these proposals have been further developed.”