Constituents affected by the GTR rail chaos continue to update me about the poor service they’re receiving and I have also been affected by the dismal rush hour service during my regular commute into London. It’s clear that the chaos is continuing and that the introduction of the temporary timetable, whilst providing some stabilisation isn’t going far enough.
I pressed GTR again at the start of the week to provide me with weekly timetable forecasts which give me and my constituents an accurate overview of what services we can expect to see. Where these (reduced) obligations are not met, I intend to hold GTR to account. Please see below for my most recent communication.
I again asked the Rail Minister to respond to my letter of 8th June which contained detailed requests about our services over the coming month and raised the issue of compensation. You can see my letter at the bottom of the page.
I have also pressed the Office of Rail and Road for answers on compensation queries – My original letter to them is attached at the bottom of this page.
At yesterday’s Opposition Day Debate the Minister for Transport and Rail Minister both outlined that compensation packages are due to be agreed on 28th June. Jo Johnson, the Rail Minister stated “We have already recommended to the board of Transport for the North that passengers who buy weekly, monthly or annual tickets on affected Northern and TPE routes should be eligible to claim up to four weeks’ compensation…I expect the board of TFN to confirm the final details of the scheme by its next meeting on 28 June and for payments to begin for Northern in early July. The Secretary of State has also announced a compensation package for passengers who travel on affected Thameslink and Great Northern routes. As he said, it will follow the special compensation scheme for Northern and TPE.”
I will update this page as soon as I have any updates from GTR, the Rail Minister and Rail Industry bodies.
I agree that the level of service we’re experiencing is unacceptable; I want it improved and I want adequate compensation agreed soon so that commuters can start to be compensated for the misery that they’ve faced.