Unreliability of train services raised with rail minister by Horsham MP

Horsham MP Jeremy Quin raised the unreliability of train services and overcrowding with the rail minister last week.
Rail Minister Claire Perry with Horsham MP Jeremy QuinRail Minister Claire Perry with Horsham MP Jeremy Quin
Rail Minister Claire Perry with Horsham MP Jeremy Quin

He was one of several MPs to meet Claire Perry, the minister at the Department for Transport with responsibility for the railways, on Tuesday to lobby for improvements to Southern services.

Just last week commuters on Southern trains compared themselves to ‘animals travelling to the slaughter’, but the train operating company said that ‘the railway is even more popular than ever, with passenger numbers growing year on year’.

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Mr Quin said: “One of the very first priorities of Sussex MPs returning to Parliament was to ensure that the issues affecting train users across Sussex were brought immediately to ministers’ attention.

“The problems all too widely experienced are unreliability, poor communication when problems occur and overcrowding.

“By keeping Claire Perry in place as rail minister post the election the Prime Minister ensured we have an experienced minister who is well versed in the issues effecting the rail network.

“In our meeting with her on Tuesday 26th May she assured us that our concerns are absolutely at the top of her inbox.

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“This meeting - before Parliament has even officially opened for the new term - is the start of a process.

“The minister will be bringing forward a plan of action over the next few weeks and I, alongside I am sure other local MPs, will be ensuring that this issue continues to receive the profile and importance it requires.”

Rail users have been hit with severe delays twice in the last month. Problems with engineering work at Clapham Junction on April 30 led to an entire day of delays and widespread cancellations across Sussex, while emergency engineering works had to be carried out at Haywards Heath on May 20, which resulted in another day of misery for passengers.

In a letter to the MPs at Tuesday’s meeting Mrs Perry said she was ‘really proud’ of the Government’s investment in the multi-billion pound Thameslink project, but was also ‘extremely concerned’ about the direct and indirect impact works were having on passengers.

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She said at times the delays and disruption were ‘simply inexcusable’, and was looking at a review of the problems on the specific lines carried out by Network Rail, which includes recommendations for both service and operational changes.

Late last month Southern also made hundreds of changes to its timetables, which included the removal of some peak time services, and has annoyed many commuters.

One rail user wrote on Facebook: “Animals travelling to slaughter get more room by law than most people get travelling during peak times in overcrowded trains.

“Surely Southern know how many people travel on average during peak times and should provide the correct amount of rolling stock rather than maximising the profit made on a journey.”

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A spokesperson for Southern said: “We have introduced new train fleets during the current franchise to meet this growth, providing a total number of additional carriages on our network to 227 – resulting in a net gain of over 10,000 extra seats across the network.

“This has provided some much needed relief to thousands of our passengers who now have a more comfortable journey.

“The decision to start the 6.56am Brighton to London Bridge service from Gatwick Airport was one of hundreds of changes made to departure times and calling patterns in the new summer timetable. These changes are designed to improve punctuality performance – something that we know is very important for our passengers.

“Looking ahead, the £6.5 billion Thameslink project will enable the introduction of more new trains on the Brighton Main Line, further increasing capacity.”

What do you think? Comment below or email the newsdesk.

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