Action on Railways

There are thousands of people using not only Horsham station itself but also, among others within the constituency Billingshurst, Christ’s Hospital, Littlehaven, Warnham, Faygate and Balcombe stations for whom a regular, reliable service is absolutely critical.

Jeremy absolutely understands constituents’ frustration regarding poor rail performance and it has been a huge focus for Jeremy since his election in 2015. Jeremy has regularly represented constituents’ views at the highest levels in the Government, GTR and Network Rail.

Jeremy recognises the underlying issues on our local lines:  passenger numbers have nearly doubled in recent years but the lines themselves form part of what is globally the most complex and intensely used rail network .  They are also reliant on some of the oldest infrastructure:  such as (within the constituency) Balcombe Tunnel which has been in continuous use since 1841.  Local lines had also been starved of investment for decades.

This was an extremely unhappy combination - creating a higher risk of failures than elsewhere and, once those failures had occurred, a massively enhanced risk of severe knock-on disruption across the entire network:  the lines were working close to capacity with little resilience when problems struck.

2010 marked the start of a massive investment programme. In the short term this meant severe disruption as a direct impact of the investment: including the knock-on impact of rebuilding London Bridge Station and the newly acquired modern rolling stock proving the catalyst for changing working practices and as a result a difficult industrial dispute.

Jeremy campaigned hard for passengers in parliament and in lobbying Government:  it was after a long campaign and in response to Jeremy’s question in PMQs that the original (ground breaking) Southern Rail additional compensation scheme received the commitment of the Prime Minister.

Jeremy recognises that the overall performance is still far from perfect but that there has been a recent  improvement in the service as the new timetable, new rolling stock and new through-London services are all beginning to make a positive difference to passengers and the resilience of the service.

Jeremy encourages his constituents to write to him about their experiences of the train service, giving as much detail as possible. Where appropriate, Jeremy will take this up directly with GTR.

Please see below for latest updates from Jeremy on railways:

News

Rail Update

The AGM of the All Party Group on Southern Rail was held on the 24th November. The  Rail Minister, Jo Johnson, addressed the meeting and was joined by GTR and Network Rail.

Getting Timetabling Fixed

While the County Times is more than enough of the papers for many residents (!) those who take the Times may have seen reported this week the campaign being driven forward  by my neighbouring Sussex MPs and me on GTR.  Clearly the priority is to fix the problems but beyond that we want a full add

Jeremy Quin Speaks in a Westminster Hall Debate

I spoke yesterday in a Westminster Hall debate about the ongoing challenges being faced by commuting constituents and other rail users. This morning I met (again) with GTR and Network Rail. In fairness our last meeting did result in (relative) improvements to the emergency timetable.

Transport Centre Stage

After years of inadequate investment we have recently delivered billions to our local rail services.  On an historic track lay-out (the most congested in Europe) and with record numbers of passengers, investment is critical to deliver a resilient service in which isolated problems do not ripple a

Recent Failures in Implementing the New May Timetable

Following the recent failures in implementing the new May timetable I was in immediate contact with the Department of Transport. I have raised concerns on the floor of the Commons, I met the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling and this morning met Charles Horton, Chief Executive of GTR.

Improving our Rail Service for the 21st Century

It is been a while since I wrote about our local rail service – which is a good sign!  My experience and that of most local rail users seems to be that the service has, albeit from a very low base, improved markedly this year.

New Timetable Running Out of Horsham

From May we will have a new Timetable running out of Horsham railway station and others across the constituency. No timetable change - and this change is the most significant in decades- will please everyone.