A REPORT for the Government on Southern Railway was ready for publication in April and covered important health and safety-related work that has been postponed, it is being claimed.

The Department for Transport received the report into the Southern network from Chris Gibb, an executive at Network Rail, last year but has not given a date for its release.

It is understood that on a visit to London Victoria Station last year, senior Network Rail managers highlighted to Mr Gibb that there were problems with severe congestion.

Images were produced showing the current layout at Victoria, where most Southern trains arrive and depart from, alongside a computer simulation from Network Rail of work that should have already been carried out to ease the overcrowding, according to the Association of British Commuters (ABC).

The computer images show fewer retail outlets, giving more space for passengers.

Emily Yates of the ABC said: “Commuters experienced another night of chaos this week with delays, cancellations, diversions, overcrowding and skipped stations for passengers.

“Though the majority of passengers have so far blamed the company, we feel duty bound to step forward and share what information we have on the impact that issues at Victoria Station may have had on this week’s suffering. “The information from a Network Rail manager shows that important health and safety work to solve passenger congestion has been postponed. We are very concerned that if the current layout is struggling to handle the existing flow of passengers, it would probably be unable to cope with passengers turning back against the flow in the event of a fire or a security incident.”