Nick has welcomed news of more trains on the Greenwich line this winter - and that Oyster cards can be used on all Southeastern trains from January.

The new timetable comes into force on 13^th December. This brings very good news for passengers using stations on the line that goes through Greenwich and Woolwich, with more trains during rush hours at most stations.

Maze Hill, Westcombe Park and Woolwich Dockyard stations will also see a 50% increase in off-peak services to and from London. These stations are currently served by four trains an hour in each direction off-peak. From 13^th December this will become six trains an hour – meaning that passengers should normally not have to wait more than ten minutes for a train.

Nick and local Labour councillors have been campaigning for a better service on the Greenwich line for years. They have also successfully fought to keep direct trains to and from Charing Cross at peak times. Southeastern Trains have dropped plans to route all trains to and form Cannon Street in the morning rush hour.

Nick and Blackheath Westcombe ward Labour councillor Alex Grant have raised concerns over a slight reduction in trains from Blackheath to London between 7am and 9am in the morning, and the axing of direct trains from Woolwich and Charlton to Blackheath during these hours.

In response, Southeastern Trains have said they do not expect crowding to increase. This is because trains through Blackheath will only be starting from Dartford, not Gravesend or Gillingham and more trains will be laid on before 7am and after 9am. Nick has successfully pushed Southeastern Trains to promise to review the effects of the new timetable in early 2010 and add more trains into the timetable from May if needed.

And there is good news on fares. Although Mayor Boris Johnson is putting up bus fares by an average of 12.7% and Tube fares by 3.9%, many railway fares are being cut in January 2010 as the Labour government has capped fare increases in London at 1.4% below inflation – a real terms decrease as inflation is currently very low.

Nick also welcomed the arrival of Oyster card technology at all railway stations. This means that Oyster card holders will no longer have to buy tickets for every journey and will always be charged the lowest fare for their journey.

Nick says: ‘Train passengers have been contacting me for some years to ask why they can’t use Pay as you Go Oyster cards on the trains. I am delighted that Southeast Trains finally got the message and that they will be accepting Oyster cards from January.

The new timetable is generally good news, and I am pleased that all stations on the Greenwich line are keeping direct trains to and form Charing Cross at rush hours, and that many of them will see more trains to and from London off-peak as well. I aim to keep a close eye on the situation and will hold Southeastern to their promise to review the impact the changes may have on services from Blackheath station’.