Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic effect of delays to rail services into London Victoria from the Sussex coast in the last 12 months.

Claire Perry

No estimate has been made, though officials are considering how to do so.

Customers on this part of the rail network haven’t always received the service they deserve. When we awarded the franchise through our robust competitive process we bought a plan to deliver a high quality service for passengers which will deliver more services, more capacity and three new fleets of trains on the Govia Thameslink Railway. None of this comes without short term challenges as a result of this significant four year programme of transformation. We believe that this plan alongside the Government’s investment in the Thameslink programme will deliver the improvements passengers deserve.

I am concerned about ensuring passengers receive the best possible service during the present crucial works on this part of the rail network. Shortly after the election I set up the South East Quadrant Taskforce, which I continue to chair. This group, which includes Network Rail and Govia Thameslink Railway, is absolutely committed to making improvements and, crucially, to making sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.