Reduction in late afternoon services, North Downs line from May 2022

[whole diary]

[eightonedee]

Thanks to Timmer for highlighting the release of the next timetables.

For me, retiring from my commute at the end of this month, it might be of academic interest, but I could not resist seeing what would happen, and was surprised to see that trains from Guildford to Reading will be reduced to one an hour between 15-48 and 18-47. This includes the removal of the popular 17-48, used heavily by school pupils/students and those able to finish work at 5 or 5-30 and return home to the Blackwater valley, Wokingham & Reading.

I recall an ambition to increase the service from 2 to 3 an hour. So why now reduce it, especially at a busy time of day? There does not seem to be an equivalent reduction in trains leaving Reading for Guildford beyond at this time.

[stuving]

Two trains from Redhill are left out of the printed timetable  for weekdays - both are present for Saturdays. But both are there on weekdays in the schedules on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website). One is marked as (Q), and "runs as required"  - which is strange - but the other isn't.

So I suspect it's a mistake.