Commuters dismiss pledge to improve train services as "a lot of fluff"

Chris Grayling made the promise to "step up" work to make the network more reliable and said he would make an imminent decision on a second Brighton mainline as he answered questions from Lewes MP Maria Caulfield in the House of Commons yesterday.

The statement came days before another 48-hour RMT strike in a row with Southern over the role of the conductor and two months after the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a £20 million bailout to help pay for Network Rail repairs and improvements.

But passengers who continue to face the daily misery of delays and disruption said words were not enough.

Mr Grayling told MPs: "We are making a whole range of substantial investments on the rail network in Sussex including longer platforms on the Uckfield line, a new Thameslink depot and upgraded power systems.

"But that said, I want to be clear, I am well aware of the frustration being felt by the passengers in her [Ms Caulfield's] constituency. One of the key issues, quite apart from the disgraceful and unwarranted industrial action that is taking place at the moment, is that this network is not reliable enough.

"I give assurance to her and her constituents that I am looking very hard at how we step up a programme of incremental improvements that stop these day by day breakdowns that make the current issues much worse."

Brad Rees, 42, who lives in Durrington with his family and works in IT in London, said: "It sounds like a lot of fluff which doesn't really address the issues. There are definitely problems with the network but he has refused to step in and address other contributing factors like staff shortages and investment in Southern which are also part of the problem as well as the relationship between the DfT and the franchise. They invested £20 million two months ago and told us to expect improvements within weeks and nothing's happened."

Ms Caulfield referred to figures which said 50 per cent of delays were down to failing infrastructure. Network Rail said just 14 per cent of delays were down to infrastructure between October 16 and November 12.

The body is accountable for 66 per cent of delays in the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) area during this period. Of these 38 per cent is down to operational problems and 14 per cent down to factors they cannot control like the weather and fatalities on the track.

The train operator Govia Thameslink Railway caused 30 per cent of delays during this time.

Southern announced it will put on extra trains between Tonbridge and Redhill in response to the next RMT strike on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as replacement buses from Haywards Heath.

Background

NEARLY £45 million has been paid out in compensation for train delays in the last year, Department for Transport figures show.

Consumer group Transport Focus said the number of eligible passengers claiming compensation has almost trebled over the past three years.

It comes as the DfT pledged to improve rail compensation schemes in response to a complaint raised by Which? to the Office of Rail and Roads.

Campaign support Hove MP Peter Kyle welcomed the acknowledgement of flaws in existing schemes and called for the threshold for Delay Repay claims to be reduced to 15 minutes and the additional compensation promised for Southern passenger, which have been confirmed but still not yet introduced.

Mr Kyle said: "Having worked closely with Which? in their campaign and super complaint to the rail regulator, I welcome the fact the Government have acknowledged the flaws in existing rail compensation schemes and the need for rapid improvements to make the system much more straightforward for passengers.

"Now it’s time for the threshold for Delay Repay claims to be reduced to 15minutes – the Minister confirmed this would happen last month but we still haven’t had any date for implementation. As well as that, the Government should come forward with their promised additional compensation scheme for passengers who have endured the frankly terrible service across the Southern network this year."

REPORT ON NEW LINE ‘WON’T SIT ON DESK MUCH LONGER’

TRANSPORT Secretary Chris Grayling has told MPs he will not let a report into a second mainline between Sussex and London “sit on his desk for too long”.

Referring to the long-awaited results of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, Chris Grayling said in Parliament yesterday: “I am well aware of the degree of campaign that’s been behind the Brighton mainline two concept.

“It is something that my honourable friend the rail minister and I are discussing.

“I am aware that we have a report which is on the desk for much too long.

“I intend to make sure it doesn’t sit on that desk for very much longer.”

It comes as Caroline Lucas urges the Chancellor to end the secrecy over the report.

The Green MP has written to Philip Hammond urging him to make public the results in his Autumn Statement next week.

Ms Lucas is also calling on the Chancellor to announce on Wednesday funding for a major upgrade in the line as it enters London and a commitment for a second route in to the capital.

The Brighton Pavilion MP said the need to invest and upgrade Brighton mainline was of critical importance considering the “immense pressure” under which the county’s rail network was operating.

Former Chancellor George Osborne commissioned the viability study to add a second London line through Sussex to take the strain off the Brighton mainline in April 2015.

It was initially hoped that the report would be published at the start of the year but even now the report has been finished, the Department of Transport (DfT) still refuses to give a date for publication.

Ms Lucas and Hove MP Peter Kyle have both been told through Parliamentary answers that the report will be published in due course but both are pushing for it to be released as soon as possible.

The Green MP has urged the chancellor to provide the investment necessary for Windmill Junction scheme to tackle the “chronic bottleneck” at Croydon which Network Rail are believed to have identified as their single top priority for investment and to commit to funding Brighton Main Line 2.