THE hard working rail staff who are busy in very tricky conditions during the London Bridge works deserve a bonus.

Quite how much they will celebrate receiving their £25 vouchers from Southeastern Rail will no doubt vary, depending on how hard life has been for them amid the changes.

But as usual with train companies, there has been a problem of timing.

For the news of these rewards to surface while commuters are tearing their hair out is the issue.

As reported in The Argus the people who get up at the crack of dawn to get to work on time rarely do so despite spending thousands each year for the privilege of sitting on packed trains.

An already unpredictable service has become worse during the work to revamp London Bridge station.

That work seems necessary and will hopefully be worth the disruption.

But it’s the commuters who need rewards at the moment. They need fitting compensation when their trains are late and they need improved services.

It’s great to reward staff. But vouchers? And to do it now? Bad timing.