Major changes to Kent’s rail timetables are unlikely in the near future, despite some severe criticism from passengers following the changes last winter.

There were some small differences when Kent’s timetables were revamped on May 23, leading to hopes that some of the less popular decisions of last December could be reversed.

However, the only changes came from a slight tinkering at the edges, leaving campaigners fighting for a return of Cannon Street trains to Maidstone East empty-handed.

And it wasn’t just those passengers who had reason to be upset, as stations from Faversham to Broadstairs saw their Victoria services slowed down considerably in December with no change in sight.

It has even been reported that Southeastern had to cut the number of high speed units in service on the peak Broadstairs-St Pancras trains due to lack of demand (the time saving from those stations to London is negligible).

However, the firm is bound by the contract it has with the Department of Transport and it also says it has carried an extra 4,000 passengers every morning across Kent.

Spokesman Jon Hay-Campbell said: "There is a review ongoing but I do not anticipate there being anything major. It takes three years to see the benefits, so we don’t want to change it that much.

"The DfT specification says we must do it and we did it. We were asked to come up with how much it would cost to run certain services [including Maidstone-Cannon St] and they said no, and you have to remember that if we want to reinstate a loss-making service the DfT has to look ahead at what the next franchisee will have to do.

"The North Kent line is growing but it is not growing as fast as we would like. However, it did not have a high speed preview service and that doesn’t mean it won’t be a success in future."

He added that there had been some winners from the changes, notably Tunbridge Wells, which has a much more intensive service, and stations such as Meopham and Longfield.

And he added that the DfT had to prepare for the Thames Gateway development expected in a few years.

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