Sussex needs to learn from last year's winter chaos, say MPs (From The Argus)

Sussex needs to learn from last year's winter chaos, say MPs

7:46am Thursday 12th May 2011 in News By Sam Lister, Parliamentary Correspondent

An urgent overhaul of Sussex rail services must be carried out to prevent a repeat of last winter's travel chaos, a powerful parliamentary committee has recommended.

MPs on the Commons transport committee launched a probe in the wake of the last cold snap that hit the country to find ways of preventing a repeat of the problems that affected the nation's travellers.

They called for the government to set up a "third rail working group" to assess how the network in Sussex can be "made more resilient" after just one third of Southeastern, Southern and First Capital Connect trains ran on time at the height of the severe weather conditions.

The committee called for "quick fixes for next winter" to be put in place while plans for more extensive work are drawn up over the longer term.

"We also recommend that the Secretary of State should commit the Government to the long-term aim of replacing the existing third rail network with a more resilient form of electrification," the report added.

The committee criticised the rail industry for not doing enough to look after the interests of passengers during periods of disruption, accusing it of hiding behind privatisation as an excuse for why it cannot provide accurate information about delays and cancellations.

MPs said they were "attracted" by the idea of using regional control centres to take charge of giving passengers up to the minute information about disruption and has called on the government to investigate the proposals.

Ms Ellman added: "A culture change in the rail industry is needed to ensure that passengers are looked after during periods of disruption.

"In future, any failure to provide information about service disruption during severe weather should cost the firms responsible money."

Gatwick Airport must also draw up emergency plans to look after stranded customers when severe weather conditions hit.

Three years of harsh winters have caused major travel chaos for passengers flying to and from UK airports with Gatwick Airport closed for 46 hours at the beginning of last December.

The committee has called for all airports to be forced to put in place "passenger welfare plans" to ensure they are properly looked after during flight cancellations or temporary airport closures.

But MPs believe that the airports should be able to reclaim the cost of supporting stranded passengers directly from the airlines.

Transport Committee chairman Louise Ellman said: "Every airport operator must now be pushed to plan properly for bad weather so that people are not left stranded and without even basic supplies in airport terminals for days on end.

"We believe airport managers must develop effective Passenger Welfare Plans."