THE poor train service across Sussex is down in part to a dysfunctional relationship between Southern and Network Rail, the new transport secretary has said.

In a full and frank letter to MPs, Chris Grayling said the relationship between the pair was not working well and needed to change.

Mr Grayling also criticised how repairs were carried out along the network and called for a quicker response when things go wrong.

The analysis of the service by the transport system has been described by union leaders as “complete garbage”.

Mr Grayling wrote to Sussex MPs following a meeting earlier this month to update them on “continuing problems” with Southern.

The former justice secretary insisted that driver operated doors were safe and that strike action by conductors and union-organised sick days were “wholly unnecessary”.

He said that having to retrofit £2 billion of new trains with a button that guards could press would cost millions of pounds.

He added: “The issue of strikes is not the only one facing the Southern network.

“Strike days are one thing but the railways should be working much better than it is the rest of the time.

“I think that the relationship between the train operator and Network Rail is not working at all well and needs to change.”

The minister added that Southern and South West Trains both operated in his Epsom and Ewell constituency and it was clear the latter was much better run with a joint team overseeing both train and track issues.

RMT president Mick Cash said: “This is complete garbage from the transport secretary.

“He has personally chosen to give Southern a free pass to cancel and wreck services without penalty.

“Instead of attacking the front line staff who are trying to hold safety and services together he should be sacking this basket-case Southern outfit and replacing them with Directly Operated Railways with a commitment to putting public service before private profit.”

John Halsall, who became Network Rail route managing director in July, said: “We recognise that passengers have experienced too many disrupted journeys and we are working hard to improve the reliability of our railway by focusing on infrastructure that has the highest risk of failure and the most impact on passengers.

“We are putting more teams on standby to quickly get track problems sorted so trains can start running gain as soon as possible and a dedicated team is also working on improving our ability to predict and prevent issues before they happen.”

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield said: “I am delighted to see in writing the transport secretary’s plans to bring about a better working relationship between Southern and Network Rail, which for the long term will vastly improve the service that rail users in my constituency receive.”