John Lewis, Lidl and other firms are calling on South Western Railway to reconsider 'drastic' cuts to services.

The rail operator is planning to make permanent reductions to services going from stations in Kingston borough to London.

Kingston, Norbiton and New Malden stations will lose two trains to Waterloo at peak morning times if the cuts go ahead.

And trains from London to Worcester Park risk being cut to 50%, from 4 trains per hour to only 2 at off-peak times

Lidl and John Lewis have now joined the fight by signing a joint letter opposing the changes.

Unilever, who recently decided to base their new HQ in Kingston, also signed the letter.

The trio of companies have been joined by Kingston Council, Kingston University, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, South Thames Colleges Group, Kingston First, and the Bentalls Centre.

The groups warned that cuts would be "incredibly damaging" and threaten the region's economic survival after the pandemic.

The letter says: "These services are relied upon by commuters, business, students and consumers alike.

"If these proposals were to go ahead, they would be incredibly damaging to the local areas which is especially concerning at a time when the economy has experienced its biggest ever peacetime shock."

They added: "This will seriously undermine the ongoing efforts to secure the borough's post-pandemic economic recovery. Attracting business to the area is a key part of this recovery.

"We would welcome the opportunity to meet with [SWR] and discuss in further detail so that [SWR] can fully understand our concerns and the true impact of these proposals."

Last week, MPs for Kingston, Richmond and Twickenham wrote to the government to call for urgent talks to block the cuts.

They argued that the cuts will drive people onto the roads and disrupt the travel of workers, children and students.

Kingston Council also condemned the move.

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said: "With customer journeys forecast to return to 76 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, it is appropriate that we right-size our services to match demand, improve reliability for our customers and reduce costs for the taxpayer.

"We welcome the feedback from these organisations on our consultation proposals, which provides useful insight into the communities and employees they represent and the customers we serve.

"We will carefully consider this feedback alongside other responses to the consultation as we develop the December 2022 timetable in more detail."