Sam Gyimah MP

Sam Gyimah MP has spoken out over the poor performance of Southern Rail, the train operator responsible for the East Grinstead and Uckfield, Caterham and Horley lines used by a large number of Mr Gyimah’s constituents.

Mr Gyimah’s comments follow an increase in the number of constituents contacting his office with concerns about local rail services. This has been reinforced by the most recent survey evidence from Passenger Focus, the travel watchdog standing up for rail users, which shows that overall satisfaction amongst commuters in Autumn 2013 was 10% lower than its peak in 2010. Southern Rail has also faced a regulatory fine of £100,000 for failure to meet its performance targets.

Mr Gyimah has already taken a number of steps this year to highlight the plight of rail users, and demand improvements to the service. Most recently, on Thursday 1st May Mr Gyimah met with Passenger Focus to discuss in detail the passenger satisfaction and the grievance procedures for passengers let down by poor service. Mr Gyimah also convened a meeting in March between Southern Rail, Network Rail and a panel of commuters from East Surrey to explore concerns around local rail services.

In advance of an announcement on the award of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise, expected before the end of this month, Mr Gyimah has written to shortlisted bidders to call for further improvements and innovations for rail services within East Surrey. This includes flexible ticketing measures, such as reduced-price season tickets for those commuting into London for only part of a week.

Mr Gyimah said:

“It is clear that Southern Rail have not provided the level of service that rail users are entitled to expect, and that commuters are suffering as a result. A number of constituents have raised this issue with me, and their concerns are apparent in the most recent survey data from Passenger Focus. Whether you look at train punctuality & reliability, cleanliness, value for money or overall customer satisfaction, Southern Rail performed worse in the Autumn 2013 survey than a year earlier.

I have already taken a number of steps to bring these concerns to the attention of Southern Rail and I will continue to keep up the pressure for improvements to rail services in East Surrey as we move forward.

I would encourage any constituents experiencing problems with local train services to contact Passenger Focus via their website at http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/.”