Crispin Blunt MP has announced his support for calls for the Government to take urgent action to address the current chaos on Govia Thameslink Railway services, especially those servicing Redhill, Reigate and adjacent stations.
“Passengers have had enough and are at breaking point. Not only do they have to suffer an appalling service that has been much reduced for the London Bridge works, is often reduced due to cancellations and skip stopping, and has unfairly high ticket prices. Now rail users have to endure additional cancellations and delays due to official and unofficial action being taken by RMT against changes in the role of train conductors.
“During Monday evening rush hour this week, for example, commuters experienced one of a string of appalling examples of complete service failure where for over an hour there were no trains from East Croydon to Redhill and the next train was full to bursting point. This happens far too often, almost weekly since May 2015.
“Passengers are suffering illness, job risk and general bad health due to the misery of the daily commute to and from London. Less than 20% of scheduled trains to and from Redhill run on time if they run at all. Furthermore, prices along the Redhill route are in some cases 47% higher than neighbouring routes. Drafts for the new 2018 timetable indicate longer journey times on most routes from Redhill stations to London and less trains than 2011. Unless something is done quickly to address the strike action, GTR’s poor contract performance and future timetabling and pricing, our local rail service will come to a standstill. Redhill, Reigate and the surrounding area is chosen by many of my constituents as a place to live because of its supposedly good rail links into London, and houses many commuters. This is a crisis than not only affects individuals, but the whole local economy.
“I therefore fully support Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users’ Association in calling on the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, to intervene to help resolve these issues as a matter of extreme urgency”.
Blog May 2016: ‘Rail trouble’: http://www.blunt4reigate.com/news/blog-may-2016-rail-trouble
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