After studying the new West Coast train timetable, we find that to reach the Isle of Wight from Hassocks we now need to change at Brighton, Hove, Barnham, Southampton, Brockenhurst and Lymington.
No trains go through to Southampton and Bournemouth direct as they used to.
At Barnham there is only five minutes to change trains and, if the connection is missed, there is an hour to wait for the next train.
Can Southern guarantee the train to Barnham will never be too late to catch the next train?
The service could not be worse, particularly for senior citizen card holders, yet Southern now boasts "your journey with us will get better in every way".
Last year, buying tickets at Hove to the Isle of Wight, we were asked to pay £191 for two return tickets, as the price was set to be from Waterloo only and could not be changed on the machine at the ticket office.
Some service. What does the future hold for rail travellers?
-Chester Earnshaw, Hassocks
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