A FURIOUS commuter says he would rather pour his money down the drain than pay for his shabby train service.

Graphic artist Jeff Osborne, 37, has been travelling from Sidcup railway station to London for nearly 20 years and claims the standard of service from Southeastern has become unacceptable.

He pays £1,760 a year for his annual travel card and has now written to Southeastern demanding some of his money back.

Mr Osborne told News Shopper: “I wouldn’t mind if the price was cheaper for the cheap product I receive, but it is extortionate.”

He says since the beginning of the year, the service on his 7.25am train to Charing Cross has been the worst he has ever known.

Mr Osborne says passengers now face regular delays and cancellations or a reduction in the number of carriages, forcing people to run up the platform and squeeze, standing-room only, into the remaining carriages.

He says the poor standard of service is only matched by the lack of information from staff.

He and several regular travelling companions have decided to keep a log of the poor service to send to the train company.

Mr Osborne said: “If no one makes a stand, people will just get used to it.

“It is very unprofessional and as bad as one would expect of a third world country.”

He said while he could accept problems during the severe bad weather, there was now no excuse.

Mr Osborne added: “I am not seeking compensation, I am demanding it.”

Southeastern under scrutiny from national task force

SOUTHEASTERN’S operational performance is to be reviewed by the industry’s National Task Force.

In a letter to Old Bexley and Sidcup MP James Brokenshire, railways minister Theresa Villiers said the review would not be limited to the train company’s performance during December’s bad weather, but cover general performance.

She said the Kent rail services had been highlighted at a recent industry meeting as being of specific concern, and she had told Network Rail it must improve the reliability of the track, signalling and other infrastructure used by Southeastern.

Mr Brokenshire met with Southeastern executives last week to discuss the large number of complaints he has received about punctuality, performance and lack of information.

He said: “As a user of Southeastern I can appreciate some of the anger and frustration experienced by commuters.

“We need to get to the bottom of what has been going wrong quickly, as current performance levels simply aren’t good enough.”