On Tuesday 26th April I attended the last meeting of the Southern Rail All Party Parliamentary Group before Parliament dissolves. Fellow MPs and I quizzed Charles Horton, the Chief Executive of Southern Rail. Without doubt, from a very low base, Southern’s performance has improved in the last couple of months – which comes through not only in their statistics but in my inbox and personal experience!
However all MPs are determined to maintain the pressure: Southern know that far as we are concerned no option is “off the table” on future structure and governance. They still have ongoing issues to resolve, not least industrial relations. We also need to build, at every level, on Chris Gibbs’ work on improving linkage between Network Rail and the Operator – putting the passenger first. I also shared concerns on disabled access (which I have previously raised earlier this year in the Commons) and recent changes to ticketing. A reliable, safe, efficient rail service is critical for Horsham, we will continue to keep up the pressure.