Following a recent local petition and concerns raised by residents, Ringwood Town Council wrote to the Chief Executive of National Express calling for the full reinstatement of Ringwood as a regular stop on the 035 coach service to London.
The Council highlighted the inconvenience caused by recent service changes, particularly for residents in Ringwood and surrounding areas who rely on the 035 coach due to the town’s lack of a railway connection. The changes had meant that most services no longer stopped in Ringwood or required lengthy diversions via Heathrow.
In response, National Express has confirmed that from 25 August a number of faster “direct” services from Ringwood to London Victoria will be reinstated.
Although this does not represent a full restoration of the previous service, it is a welcome step. Benefits for Ringwood passengers include:
National Express has stated that decisions are made based on commercial viability, demand, and wider network considerations. A full reinstatement would, they say, require reducing services elsewhere or increasing fleet size. The company has indicated it will keep the situation under review.
Town Mayor Cllr Rae Frederick said:
“Whilst the response is disappointing and falls short of what we asked for, it is a step in the right direction. I will be reviewing the new timetable after 25 August and will not hesitate to follow up with National Express if the reinstated services have not materialised as expected. The Town Council will continue to do what it can to support local residents on issues like this and make sure their concerns are heard.”
The full response from National Express is as follows:
Dear Cllr Frederick
Thank you for your representation on behalf of Ringwood Town Council regarding the 035 National Express service.
National Express operates services on a fully commercial basis and, unlike other forms of public transport, receives no public or commercial subsidy to contribute to our operating costs. As you will appreciate, as a commercial business that is subject to intense competition, we keep our network under continual review with the aim of ensuring we have the right balance between the number and location of stops, journey time, sufficient customer demand and affordable pricing.
This has led us to make adjustments to the 035 service between Ringwood and London Victoria, with the service now operating 12 times daily via London Heathrow airport. We do, however, appreciate the value of the faster London service for passengers in Ringwood and, as you acknowledge, agreed that from 25 August we would reinstate some “fast” services from Ringwood.
This is a compromise, it means that passengers in Ringwood get fast Heathrow journeys - now approximately 1 hour and 30minutes (T5) versus 2 hours 30 minutes previously and a regular service into Southampton. It also allows us to offer customers fast, direct Bournemouth to London journeys which are in high demand. It does mean that the majority of the journeys from Ringwood are approximately 30 minutes longer to Victoria Coach Station.
We recognise the importance of our services to local communities and do not make changes to services without careful consideration and a comprehensive assessment of the options. However, we are not in a position to make decisions which are commercially unviable. The 5 or 10 minutes diversion into Ringwood would ultimately mean we would have to drop some Poole extensions, or have fewer journeys overall or increase the number of vehicles on the route.
I appreciate that this is not the response you or the Council would have hoped for, and whilst we have no immediate plans to reverse the changes, I will ask my team to keep the situation under review over the coming months.
Yours sincerely
Kevin Gale
CEO National Express UK, Germany & Ireland
