Southern Rail STRIKE details

[TomandJerry]

[tweet]811468568143478788[/tweet]

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I have a similar appointment at 3pm by Tower Bridge, so I also hope I am not late

Good luck. I'll raise a glass to you at 2pm!

As an aside a few years ago when there was the heavy rain and bugger all running from Victoria this site delivered on-the-ground information which was seemingly beyond our rail companies. It took around 3 hours but NSC delivered me into Brighton Craft Beer Co on time. It saved my Xmas, long live NSC.

 

[beorhthelm]

Good grief, how has it come to this

Soldiers standing by to drive rail replacement buses

oh dear, i fear this is coming from the well meaning Caulfield and Loughton, who is suggesting a contingency of fleet of rail replacement buses. can you imagine actually having to get a bus or coach service to/from Victoria, through south London via East Croydon and home to Sussex? probably near 3 hours each way to the other major towns along the coast.

if you read down, theres a bit about 4000 soldiers trained to drive coaches, not that they are actually prepared or planning to run such a service. Caulfield, Loughton and the other local MPs should really be pushing Grayling and Maynard to fix the dispute, not let it linger.

 

[albionite]

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/175682

And so it spreads, I thought they would of sorted out gtr before implementing their plan elsewhere.

 

[Norman Baker suck my lozenge]

Good grief, how has it come to this

Soldiers standing by to drive rail replacement buses

Why don't they just SACK the guards and drivers that are refusing to work overtime and train the troops to operate the trains?
By all accounts it only takes 45 minutes to an hour to learn how to do it,this would be a great way to SMASH the Bolsheviks.

 

[Meade's Ball]

I was 1 minute late this morning for work. The train was a bit delayed and it stopped at Redhill where it didn't originally plan to, but I blame the lateness on my ticket getting stuck in the machine at Blackfriars, and for around 11 people in thick argumentative discussions with the workers there over this and that. Rather annoying.
The longer journey, though, I quite enjoyed, as I could watch an entire film off of Netflix during it.

 

[Peter Grummit]

oh dear, i fear this is coming from the well meaning Caulfield and Loughton, who is suggesting a contingency of fleet of rail replacement buses. can you imagine actually having to get a bus or coach service to/from Victoria, through south London via East Croydon and home to Sussex? probably near 3 hours each way to the other major towns along the coast.

if you read down, theres a bit about 4000 soldiers trained to drive coaches, not that they are actually prepared or planning to run such a service. Caulfield, Loughton and the other local MPs should really be pushing Grayling and Maynard to fix the dispute, not let it linger.

This is a classic case of having to be seen to be doing something. The DfT are already briefing that it won't work, as there are not enough buses and the congestion would be horrendous.

My bet is they will put some token buses on eg HH to Lewes when for most it will be quicker and easier to go via Brighton as is happening at the moment. But the PM can say she has initiated something and the unions are still entirely to blame.

PG

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Think I'm going to do this......

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Cheers [MENTION=3462]Springal[/MENTION] , hope you made your 3pm rendezvous

 

[Springal]

Cheers [MENTION=3462]Springal[/MENTION] , hope you made your 3pm rendezvous

Nicely done ! What is it?

I'm running a bit late, broken level crossing at Shoreham [emoji35]

 

[HH Brighton]

This government is a joke, how the hell they allowed this contract to be put in place and then try and defend it is beyond anyone stupid. Unfortunately 1 in 4 people decided to vote for these bunch of jokers, the country dumbing down at its finest. Now we are stuck with Theresa May and her totally clueless, inept bunch of toffs for 4 years. Chris Grayling a fine example of sheer incompetence.
The fact some people on here try and defend the government just shows how ****ing thick this country has become.

 

[Insel affe]

My wife sent an email on the 14th Dec to Chris Grayling and copied in Caroline Lucas

Dear Mr Grayling MP,

What are you going to do about the absolute fiasco that is the Brighton to London mainline (Southern trains)? I am a regular commuter and am feeling completely abandoned by all involved. It is crushing my soul! I have spend so much time on trains which are very late and dangerously packed to the point that I struggle to breathe! And I have to pay £5244 per year for this!

This ongoing dispute is causing 500,000 people pain and misery every single day. Our livelihoods, our jobs, our children and families, our health and wellbeing are seriously under threat and have been for almost one year.

When will the government do something about it? I certainly hope it happens before someone dies from being accidentally pushed off a platform, for example, in the dangerous overcrowding we face everyday.

Stop blaming someone else and resolve this matter urgently!

Why not at least consider the Mayor of London's proposal before you dismiss it? Party politics should be put to one side when so many people are suffering.

Can you please tell me what you intend to do about this?

Thank you, Mrs Freakout





Only Caroline replied obviously on the 16th December

Dear Mrs Freakout

Thank you for copying me in to your email below. I know that many of my constituents are experiencing severe distress as a result of the chaos on the railways and that this situation is no less than a crisis for many people in my constituency.

My key aim at the moment is to get the Government to step in and resolve this crisis by being openly involved in the industrial dispute, in the hope that this will break the current stalemate. I say ‘openly’ because the Government is already involved in the dispute: it gave the management contract for our rail services to Southern’s parent company GTR and so has the power to both hold its contractor to account and to take the contract back.

Last week in Parliament I escalated pressure through what’s known as an Urgent Question, a difficult to secure mechanism which required the Rail Minister to come to the House of Commons and be held accountable for the rail debacle.

This got cross party support from other MPs and the full debate can be found here:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commo...ribution-7179D156-091A-4A55-A761-76901081AF47

A video clip is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b087l6dq/questions-and-statements-live-southern-rail-question

As I said on Wednesday in Parliament to the Prime Minister, I really do not think that Ministers have any idea of the pain that passengers and businesses in Brighton and beyond are suffering. I will keep up the pressure on all involved, and especially the Government, to get a grip. This may not be immediate enough to address the frustration and stress of the delays and cancellations; nor does it re-instate the time lost with family and friends due to the rail chaos; nor does it make a difference if you have to explain, once again, why you haven’t made it to work or to a meeting on time. However, I can assure you that this is an absolute priority for me as your MP and I will continue to press for a resolution at every opportunity.

Best wishes
Caroline

In one of the links above Union leaders have even described the action as “carrying on Fidel’s work.”

Where can you go with that.

Oh she got a reply from Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services


Dear Mrs Freakout

Thank you for your e-mail to Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport,
about the current state of affairs on Southern. Your e-mail has been forwarded on to the
Department for Transport’s Passenger Services team for reply.
I fully understand your frustration with Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) performance
and the service you have been receiving. The current situation with Southern services is
unacceptable and passengers do deserve a far better service.
I would like to assure you that resolving the situation is a priority for both the Rail Minister
and Secretary of State (who fully appreciate the impact that this is having on families, work
and businesses) and they have been proactive in finding solutions for the current
disruption such as the announcement of the new projects board on 1 September and the
announcement on 13 October of improved compensation for passengers whose journeys
have been delayed for 15 minutes. It is in no-one’s interest to prolong this period of
uncertainty and distress for passengers any longer.
The current situation has come about due to the intersection of several issues: the inability
of Network Rail to maintain this part of the network (which is one of the most congested in
the country); the industrial action by the RMT union; and substantial engineering issues,
particularly caused by the total rebuilding of London Bridge Station and the need to
expand network capacity (especially on Southern, which was originally designed a century
ago for seasonal tourism, not day-to-day commuting on a massive scale). Any one of
these issues would have the potential for causing disruption and the unfortunate
occurrence of all of them together has resulted in the significant problems we have seen
since April.
We are addressing performance issues and we continue to hold GTR to account. It is clear
that GTR must work with Network Rail to deliver a better service for passengers as soon
as possible. Issues with infrastructure operated by Network Rail have significantly
contributed to the delays on this network: once delays start to occur they rapidly spread
around the congested network. Resolving these issues is a top priority for Network Rail.
We will also continue to ensure that the management of the train operating company is
doing everything in its power to deliver reliable services.

We announced in September a package of measures including a £20m fund (reallocated
from Network Rail’s existing budget) and the appointment of Chris Gibb, one of Britain’s
most experienced rail industry figures, to lead a new GTR and Network Rail Project Board.
In the short-term, the most pressing need is to restore performance to acceptable levels.
Some of those issues should be resolved by the work that Mr Gibb is doing to rapidly
identify where the problems are and improve the way this railway runs. The infrastructure
team and the train operating team have moved into a joint control room at Three Bridges
so there should be a more joined up way of dealing with problems now.
In addition, Mr Gibb is working to resolve some of the most regular causes of problems –
ranging from a piece of worn out tunnel track that will be replaced in the first part of next
year to level crossing problems that are slowing down trains and impacting the timetable.
This part of the railway is so intensively used that any operational issue can have a big
knock on effect. Mr Gibb will report his final recommendations to the Secretary of State for
Transport by the end of the year.
The trade union dispute on the Southern network, which has been ongoing since April, is
undoubtedly adding to the disruption passengers are facing. Although the Department
does not determine train operators’ employee contracts, we are naturally extremely
disappointed that the unions’ actions (both the RMT strikes and now the ASLEF noncontractual
overtime ban and strikes) are being prioritised over the needs of the wider
travelling public. This is hitting hard working passengers the most at a time when
passengers may wish to travel to see loved ones both here and abroad.
Whilst progress has been made through the RMT advising its members to accept the new
supervisor role, it is disappointing that continued strikes are still preventing trains from
leaving stations and therefore failing to put passengers’ best interests at heart. The new
deal protects jobs and ensures staff can provide assistance to customers, whilst also
delivering a safe and reliable rail service that supports the modernisation of operating
practices in the rail industry.
Although Southern trains have been in the spotlight recently, drivers have in fact been
operating train doors for 30 years on more than a third of the UK rail network (the first such
train entered service in 1982) and 40 per cent of trains currently operating on the Southern
network have doors operated by drivers. Whilst it would not be appropriate for us to be
involved with employees’ disputes over their terms and conditions, we urge both unions’
leaders to stop action which is directly affecting passengers’ ability to travel on the
Southern railway network.
To attempt to help resolve the industrial dispute, the Secretary of State has written to both
ASLEF and RMT offering to meet them for talks if they called off their planned strikes.
Neither union has agreed to meet without preconditions. GTR held talks with ASLEF at
ACAS, the conciliation service, to try to find a resolution. Sadly, ASLEF has maintained
their entrenched position and a resolution has unfortunately not been found. Passengers
will be rightly infuriated at the ongoing disruption to their daily lives.
We are deeply disappointed that this strike action is to continue and cause thousands of
passengers more disruption and misery. We continue to urge the unions to negotiate a
solution and the Secretary of State has reaffirmed his offer for talks with their leaders if
they call off strike action.
To address the engineering issue, this stretch of the network is one of the most burdened
and intensively-used in the country. This is why, given the level of disruption anticipated by
the infrastructure work, we created a single, larger franchise. This was to better coordinate
individual services on Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express and Great Northern, while
significant engineering and upgrade work is carried out to the central London area, which
will ultimately, by the end of 2018, increase capacity and frequency of trains stopping at
peak times. We expect incremental improvements between now and then as the work at
London Bridge is completed in stages. That said, at a recent Transport Select Committee
hearing, it was made clear that it is unlikely the Department for Transport will wish to let
such a large franchise in future.
It is right that we compensate people who have not received the service they expect and
deserve. That is why the Government confirmed that from Sunday 11 December,
commuters across the whole of GTR delayed between 15 and 29 minutes can claim back
25% of the cost of the single fare as part of an improved Delay Repay compensation
scheme announced in October. This is a significant improvement for passengers travelling
on Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express trains. The existing Delay
Repay thresholds for delays lasting 30 minutes or more will continue to apply.
For the extraordinary disruption Southern passengers have suffered, we announced on 2
December that in addition to being able to claim Delay Repay of 15 minutes or more,
Southern’s annual, monthly, quarterly and weekly season ticket holders will receive a oneoff
payment up to a month’s worth of travel paid directly into their bank account or by
vouchers. For example, an annual Brighton to London season ticket holder will be eligible
for a £371 refund. Arrangements are being finalised detailing how the scheme will operate,
with Southern providing further information in January1
.
You may be interested to know that season ticket holders are eligible for strike
compensation on the days when the industrial action makes travel challenging. Details of
how to apply for compensation, including Delay Repay, are available on Southern’s
website2
. If you have a season ticket, you would also be able to apply for enhanced
compensation if you have experienced 12 days with delays of at least 30 minutes within a
business reporting period3
. I would encourage you to claim for compensation whenever
possible.
With regard to your suggestion about devolving suburban services to Transport for London
(TfL), the Mayor of London presented a business case for the devolution of suburban
London services on the South Eastern franchise. This was scrutinised by Departmental
officials, analysing the costs and benefits of the proposal including the impact on the South
Eastern franchise and the forthcoming competition. The Mayor’s business plan for the
devolution of the South Eastern franchise provided no extra capacity in peak hours, and it
promised infrastructure improvements with no funding identified. Furthermore, South
Eastern MPs and councillors had raised concerns about the Mayor being given control
over services for people who could not vote for the Mayor.
The Secretary of State has instead recently set out his plans for TfL to have a role within
the South Eastern competition team and to collaborate on the specification for services
within London. TfL will have more of a say in the franchise than ever before. Officials are
also discussing with Kent County Council to see how the Department can ensure the local
interests of longer distance passengers are duly considered within the franchise
competition. The purpose of this change is to deliver as many benefits for passengers aspossible.

We can deliver services improvements through partnership on the South Eastern
franchise, without the need for a massive reorganisation and splitting the franchise.
For your own comfort, we have been assured that GTR deploys extra staff on strike days,
and during other times of disruption, to support station staff. This includes helping to
manage queuing systems that may need to be used at the busiest stations on their
network to keep passengers safe.
As the Secretary of State said in his December 12 letter to Southern passengers 4
, “We will continue to do everything we can to resolve things, and are looking carefully at all options
to do so.”
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Blah Blah Lady
Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services

 

[Diego Napier]

This government is a joke, how the hell they allowed this contract to be put in place and then try and defend it is beyond anyone stupid. Unfortunately 1 in 4 people decided to vote for these bunch of jokers, the country dumbing down at its finest. Now we are stuck with Theresa May and her totally clueless, inept bunch of toffs for 4 years. Chris Grayling a fine example of sheer incompetence.
The fact some people on here try and defend the government just shows how ****ing thick this country has become.

I think you'll find it's always been that width, social media simply makes it more apparent.

 

[pearl]

Oh she got a reply from Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services


Dear Mrs Freakout

Thank you for your e-mail to Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport,
about the current state of affairs on Southern. Your e-mail has been forwarded on to the
Department for Transport’s Passenger Services team for reply.
I fully understand your frustration with Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) performance
and the service you have been receiving. The current situation with Southern services is
unacceptable and passengers do deserve a far better service.
I would like to assure you that resolving the situation is a priority for both the Rail Minister
and Secretary of State (who fully appreciate the impact that this is having on families, work
and businesses) and they have been proactive in finding solutions for the current
disruption such as the announcement of the new projects board on 1 September and the
announcement on 13 October of improved compensation for passengers whose journeys
have been delayed for 15 minutes. It is in no-one’s interest to prolong this period of
uncertainty and distress for passengers any longer.
The current situation has come about due to the intersection of several issues: the inability
of Network Rail to maintain this part of the network (which is one of the most congested in
the country); the industrial action by the RMT union; and substantial engineering issues,
particularly caused by the total rebuilding of London Bridge Station and the need to
expand network capacity (especially on Southern, which was originally designed a century
ago for seasonal tourism, not day-to-day commuting on a massive scale). Any one of
these issues would have the potential for causing disruption and the unfortunate
occurrence of all of them together has resulted in the significant problems we have seen
since April.
We are addressing performance issues and we continue to hold GTR to account. It is clear
that GTR must work with Network Rail to deliver a better service for passengers as soon
as possible. Issues with infrastructure operated by Network Rail have significantly
contributed to the delays on this network: once delays start to occur they rapidly spread
around the congested network. Resolving these issues is a top priority for Network Rail.
We will also continue to ensure that the management of the train operating company is
doing everything in its power to deliver reliable services.

We announced in September a package of measures including a £20m fund (reallocated
from Network Rail’s existing budget) and the appointment of Chris Gibb, one of Britain’s
most experienced rail industry figures, to lead a new GTR and Network Rail Project Board.
In the short-term, the most pressing need is to restore performance to acceptable levels.
Some of those issues should be resolved by the work that Mr Gibb is doing to rapidly
identify where the problems are and improve the way this railway runs. The infrastructure
team and the train operating team have moved into a joint control room at Three Bridges
so there should be a more joined up way of dealing with problems now.
In addition, Mr Gibb is working to resolve some of the most regular causes of problems –
ranging from a piece of worn out tunnel track that will be replaced in the first part of next
year to level crossing problems that are slowing down trains and impacting the timetable.
This part of the railway is so intensively used that any operational issue can have a big
knock on effect. Mr Gibb will report his final recommendations to the Secretary of State for
Transport by the end of the year.
The trade union dispute on the Southern network, which has been ongoing since April, is
undoubtedly adding to the disruption passengers are facing. Although the Department
does not determine train operators’ employee contracts, we are naturally extremely
disappointed that the unions’ actions (both the RMT strikes and now the ASLEF noncontractual
overtime ban and strikes) are being prioritised over the needs of the wider
travelling public. This is hitting hard working passengers the most at a time when
passengers may wish to travel to see loved ones both here and abroad.
Whilst progress has been made through the RMT advising its members to accept the new
supervisor role, it is disappointing that continued strikes are still preventing trains from
leaving stations and therefore failing to put passengers’ best interests at heart. The new
deal protects jobs and ensures staff can provide assistance to customers, whilst also
delivering a safe and reliable rail service that supports the modernisation of operating
practices in the rail industry.
Although Southern trains have been in the spotlight recently, drivers have in fact been
operating train doors for 30 years on more than a third of the UK rail network (the first such
train entered service in 1982) and 40 per cent of trains currently operating on the Southern
network have doors operated by drivers. Whilst it would not be appropriate for us to be
involved with employees’ disputes over their terms and conditions, we urge both unions’
leaders to stop action which is directly affecting passengers’ ability to travel on the
Southern railway network.
To attempt to help resolve the industrial dispute, the Secretary of State has written to both
ASLEF and RMT offering to meet them for talks if they called off their planned strikes.
Neither union has agreed to meet without preconditions. GTR held talks with ASLEF at
ACAS, the conciliation service, to try to find a resolution. Sadly, ASLEF has maintained
their entrenched position and a resolution has unfortunately not been found. Passengers
will be rightly infuriated at the ongoing disruption to their daily lives.
We are deeply disappointed that this strike action is to continue and cause thousands of
passengers more disruption and misery. We continue to urge the unions to negotiate a
solution and the Secretary of State has reaffirmed his offer for talks with their leaders if
they call off strike action.
To address the engineering issue, this stretch of the network is one of the most burdened
and intensively-used in the country. This is why, given the level of disruption anticipated by
the infrastructure work, we created a single, larger franchise. This was to better coordinate
individual services on Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express and Great Northern, while
significant engineering and upgrade work is carried out to the central London area, which
will ultimately, by the end of 2018, increase capacity and frequency of trains stopping at
peak times. We expect incremental improvements between now and then as the work at
London Bridge is completed in stages. That said, at a recent Transport Select Committee
hearing, it was made clear that it is unlikely the Department for Transport will wish to let
such a large franchise in future.
It is right that we compensate people who have not received the service they expect and
deserve. That is why the Government confirmed that from Sunday 11 December,
commuters across the whole of GTR delayed between 15 and 29 minutes can claim back
25% of the cost of the single fare as part of an improved Delay Repay compensation
scheme announced in October. This is a significant improvement for passengers travelling
on Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express trains. The existing Delay
Repay thresholds for delays lasting 30 minutes or more will continue to apply.
For the extraordinary disruption Southern passengers have suffered, we announced on 2
December that in addition to being able to claim Delay Repay of 15 minutes or more,
Southern’s annual, monthly, quarterly and weekly season ticket holders will receive a oneoff
payment up to a month’s worth of travel paid directly into their bank account or by
vouchers. For example, an annual Brighton to London season ticket holder will be eligible
for a £371 refund. Arrangements are being finalised detailing how the scheme will operate,
with Southern providing further information in January1
.
You may be interested to know that season ticket holders are eligible for strike
compensation on the days when the industrial action makes travel challenging. Details of
how to apply for compensation, including Delay Repay, are available on Southern’s
website2
. If you have a season ticket, you would also be able to apply for enhanced
compensation if you have experienced 12 days with delays of at least 30 minutes within a
business reporting period3
. I would encourage you to claim for compensation whenever
possible.
With regard to your suggestion about devolving suburban services to Transport for London
(TfL), the Mayor of London presented a business case for the devolution of suburban
London services on the South Eastern franchise. This was scrutinised by Departmental
officials, analysing the costs and benefits of the proposal including the impact on the South
Eastern franchise and the forthcoming competition. The Mayor’s business plan for the
devolution of the South Eastern franchise provided no extra capacity in peak hours, and it
promised infrastructure improvements with no funding identified. Furthermore, South
Eastern MPs and councillors had raised concerns about the Mayor being given control
over services for people who could not vote for the Mayor.
The Secretary of State has instead recently set out his plans for TfL to have a role within
the South Eastern competition team and to collaborate on the specification for services
within London. TfL will have more of a say in the franchise than ever before. Officials are
also discussing with Kent County Council to see how the Department can ensure the local
interests of longer distance passengers are duly considered within the franchise
competition. The purpose of this change is to deliver as many benefits for passengers aspossible.

We can deliver services improvements through partnership on the South Eastern
franchise, without the need for a massive reorganisation and splitting the franchise.
For your own comfort, we have been assured that GTR deploys extra staff on strike days,
and during other times of disruption, to support station staff. This includes helping to
manage queuing systems that may need to be used at the busiest stations on their
network to keep passengers safe.
As the Secretary of State said in his December 12 letter to Southern passengers 4
, “We will continue to do everything we can to resolve things, and are looking carefully at all options
to do so.”
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Blah Blah Lady
Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services

have done the same several times with pretty much the same responses. I email Caroline to update her on east coast shambles (she must think I'm a right pain-in-the-arse)

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Nicely done ! What is it?

I'm running a bit late, broken level crossing at Shoreham [emoji35]

A cask Thornbridge Wild Holly Xmas Ale. We're now holed up in The Stormbird craft pub in Camberwell.

 

[yxee]

This government is a joke, how the hell they allowed this contract to be put in place and then try and defend it is beyond anyone stupid. Unfortunately 1 in 4 people decided to vote for these bunch of jokers, the country dumbing down at its finest. Now we are stuck with Theresa May and her totally clueless, inept bunch of toffs for 4 years. Chris Grayling a fine example of sheer incompetence.
The fact some people on here try and defend the government just shows how ****ing thick this country has become.

Are you surprised when labour field the two Eds ? One of them lost his own constituency he was so unelectable. This government and buffoons like Grayling are complacent because there is no electable opposition! You can hold voters to account, myself I blame Labour for not giving them a proper alternative.

 

[Yoda]

Oh she got a reply from Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services


Dear Mrs Freakout

Thank you for your e-mail to Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport,
about the current state of affairs on Southern. Your e-mail has been forwarded on to the
Department for Transport’s Passenger Services team for reply.
I fully understand your frustration with Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) performance
and the service you have been receiving. The current situation with Southern services is
unacceptable and passengers do deserve a far better service.
I would like to assure you that resolving the situation is a priority for both the Rail Minister
and Secretary of State (who fully appreciate the impact that this is having on families, work
and businesses) and they have been proactive in finding solutions for the current
disruption such as the announcement of the new projects board on 1 September and the
announcement on 13 October of improved compensation for passengers whose journeys
have been delayed for 15 minutes. It is in no-one’s interest to prolong this period of
uncertainty and distress for passengers any longer.
The current situation has come about due to the intersection of several issues: the inability
of Network Rail to maintain this part of the network (which is one of the most congested in
the country); the industrial action by the RMT union; and substantial engineering issues,
particularly caused by the total rebuilding of London Bridge Station and the need to
expand network capacity (especially on Southern, which was originally designed a century
ago for seasonal tourism, not day-to-day commuting on a massive scale). Any one of
these issues would have the potential for causing disruption and the unfortunate
occurrence of all of them together has resulted in the significant problems we have seen
since April.
We are addressing performance issues and we continue to hold GTR to account. It is clear
that GTR must work with Network Rail to deliver a better service for passengers as soon
as possible. Issues with infrastructure operated by Network Rail have significantly
contributed to the delays on this network: once delays start to occur they rapidly spread
around the congested network. Resolving these issues is a top priority for Network Rail.
We will also continue to ensure that the management of the train operating company is
doing everything in its power to deliver reliable services.

We announced in September a package of measures including a £20m fund (reallocated
from Network Rail’s existing budget) and the appointment of Chris Gibb, one of Britain’s
most experienced rail industry figures, to lead a new GTR and Network Rail Project Board.
In the short-term, the most pressing need is to restore performance to acceptable levels.
Some of those issues should be resolved by the work that Mr Gibb is doing to rapidly
identify where the problems are and improve the way this railway runs. The infrastructure
team and the train operating team have moved into a joint control room at Three Bridges
so there should be a more joined up way of dealing with problems now.
In addition, Mr Gibb is working to resolve some of the most regular causes of problems –
ranging from a piece of worn out tunnel track that will be replaced in the first part of next
year to level crossing problems that are slowing down trains and impacting the timetable.
This part of the railway is so intensively used that any operational issue can have a big
knock on effect. Mr Gibb will report his final recommendations to the Secretary of State for
Transport by the end of the year.
The trade union dispute on the Southern network, which has been ongoing since April, is
undoubtedly adding to the disruption passengers are facing. Although the Department
does not determine train operators’ employee contracts, we are naturally extremely
disappointed that the unions’ actions (both the RMT strikes and now the ASLEF noncontractual
overtime ban and strikes) are being prioritised over the needs of the wider
travelling public. This is hitting hard working passengers the most at a time when
passengers may wish to travel to see loved ones both here and abroad.
Whilst progress has been made through the RMT advising its members to accept the new
supervisor role, it is disappointing that continued strikes are still preventing trains from
leaving stations and therefore failing to put passengers’ best interests at heart. The new
deal protects jobs and ensures staff can provide assistance to customers, whilst also
delivering a safe and reliable rail service that supports the modernisation of operating
practices in the rail industry.
Although Southern trains have been in the spotlight recently, drivers have in fact been
operating train doors for 30 years on more than a third of the UK rail network (the first such
train entered service in 1982) and 40 per cent of trains currently operating on the Southern
network have doors operated by drivers. Whilst it would not be appropriate for us to be
involved with employees’ disputes over their terms and conditions, we urge both unions’
leaders to stop action which is directly affecting passengers’ ability to travel on the
Southern railway network.
To attempt to help resolve the industrial dispute, the Secretary of State has written to both
ASLEF and RMT offering to meet them for talks if they called off their planned strikes.
Neither union has agreed to meet without preconditions. GTR held talks with ASLEF at
ACAS, the conciliation service, to try to find a resolution. Sadly, ASLEF has maintained
their entrenched position and a resolution has unfortunately not been found. Passengers
will be rightly infuriated at the ongoing disruption to their daily lives.
We are deeply disappointed that this strike action is to continue and cause thousands of
passengers more disruption and misery. We continue to urge the unions to negotiate a
solution and the Secretary of State has reaffirmed his offer for talks with their leaders if
they call off strike action.
To address the engineering issue, this stretch of the network is one of the most burdened
and intensively-used in the country. This is why, given the level of disruption anticipated by
the infrastructure work, we created a single, larger franchise. This was to better coordinate
individual services on Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express and Great Northern, while
significant engineering and upgrade work is carried out to the central London area, which
will ultimately, by the end of 2018, increase capacity and frequency of trains stopping at
peak times. We expect incremental improvements between now and then as the work at
London Bridge is completed in stages. That said, at a recent Transport Select Committee
hearing, it was made clear that it is unlikely the Department for Transport will wish to let
such a large franchise in future.
It is right that we compensate people who have not received the service they expect and
deserve. That is why the Government confirmed that from Sunday 11 December,
commuters across the whole of GTR delayed between 15 and 29 minutes can claim back
25% of the cost of the single fare as part of an improved Delay Repay compensation
scheme announced in October. This is a significant improvement for passengers travelling
on Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express trains. The existing Delay
Repay thresholds for delays lasting 30 minutes or more will continue to apply.
For the extraordinary disruption Southern passengers have suffered, we announced on 2
December that in addition to being able to claim Delay Repay of 15 minutes or more,
Southern’s annual, monthly, quarterly and weekly season ticket holders will receive a oneoff
payment up to a month’s worth of travel paid directly into their bank account or by
vouchers. For example, an annual Brighton to London season ticket holder will be eligible
for a £371 refund. Arrangements are being finalised detailing how the scheme will operate,
with Southern providing further information in January1
.
You may be interested to know that season ticket holders are eligible for strike
compensation on the days when the industrial action makes travel challenging. Details of
how to apply for compensation, including Delay Repay, are available on Southern’s
website2
. If you have a season ticket, you would also be able to apply for enhanced
compensation if you have experienced 12 days with delays of at least 30 minutes within a
business reporting period3
. I would encourage you to claim for compensation whenever
possible.
With regard to your suggestion about devolving suburban services to Transport for London
(TfL), the Mayor of London presented a business case for the devolution of suburban
London services on the South Eastern franchise. This was scrutinised by Departmental
officials, analysing the costs and benefits of the proposal including the impact on the South
Eastern franchise and the forthcoming competition. The Mayor’s business plan for the
devolution of the South Eastern franchise provided no extra capacity in peak hours, and it
promised infrastructure improvements with no funding identified. Furthermore, South
Eastern MPs and councillors had raised concerns about the Mayor being given control
over services for people who could not vote for the Mayor.
The Secretary of State has instead recently set out his plans for TfL to have a role within
the South Eastern competition team and to collaborate on the specification for services
within London. TfL will have more of a say in the franchise than ever before. Officials are
also discussing with Kent County Council to see how the Department can ensure the local
interests of longer distance passengers are duly considered within the franchise
competition. The purpose of this change is to deliver as many benefits for passengers aspossible.

We can deliver services improvements through partnership on the South Eastern
franchise, without the need for a massive reorganisation and splitting the franchise.
For your own comfort, we have been assured that GTR deploys extra staff on strike days,
and during other times of disruption, to support station staff. This includes helping to
manage queuing systems that may need to be used at the busiest stations on their
network to keep passengers safe.
As the Secretary of State said in his December 12 letter to Southern passengers 4
, “We will continue to do everything we can to resolve things, and are looking carefully at all options
to do so.”
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Blah Blah Lady
Correspondence Manager, Passenger Services

Only skim read that and what I was catching reads almost like a script that Grayling has said word for word in media recently.

Who the **** do they think they are trying to fool here? Or are the thinking "If we say it often enough, they may start to believe us"?

 

[Hastings gull]

This government is a joke, how the hell they allowed this contract to be put in place and then try and defend it is beyond anyone stupid. Unfortunately 1 in 4 people decided to vote for these bunch of jokers, the country dumbing down at its finest. Now we are stuck with Theresa May and her totally clueless, inept bunch of toffs for 4 years. Chris Grayling a fine example of sheer incompetence.
The fact some people on here try and defend the government just shows how ****ing thick this country has become.

if you are intelligent, how do you become thick? I think there might only be one thick person here . .

 

[Whitechapel]

My train home from work has now been cancelled until further notice.

Over 90 minutes without a train stopping at Goring station either way. F*cking shambles.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

All going well in South London. Imperial Red ale