First, I want to let you know how sorry I am that passengers on Southern are continuing to receive an abysmal service - I am under no illusion of the destructive impact this is having on people's lives.
Conductors have now accepted the new contracts and as I understand it there have been no job losses whatsoever. I spoke to the Union picket outside Horsham Station and as I understand it the RMT continues to strike primarily because of their desire to ensure that no train should operate without an On Board Supervisor and over the depth of safety training that an OBS should be required to undertake.
Southern wants to retain a second person on the train but in exceptional circumstances wants to be able to run a train without an OBS in order to maintain the service. Southern believe that their safety training in absolutely what is required for the new role.
Talks seem incapable of producing an agreement. Southern report that more conductors are working on strike days - but clearly as we know the service continues to be hard hit.
The weakness of performance on Southern trains is only in part related to industrial action.
There have already been too many false dawns but I was impressed with Chris Gibb when he presented to the All Party Group on Southern Rail last week. He is heading the new project board to oversee improvement measures in Southern Region. He is not there as an employee of Southern. He is in place at the behest of the Department to knock heads together between Southern and Network Rail and make it work.
Not before time he and his small project board are injecting common sense into how the railway operates. He has introduced a real focus on delivering the morning and evening peak in which the vast majority of passengers travel. There are now routine conference calls twice a day in advance of the peaks to ensure that every problem is spotted and dealt with between Southern and Network Rail. He is ensuring that there is de facto 1 control centre with one manager respected by both "sides" at Three Bridges rather than 2 control centres. Likewise one overall manager at Victoria and at London Bridge rather than three each.
I pushed him hard on the chaos caused by the maintenance breakdown inside Balcombe Tunnel on a strike day. He insisted that maintenance must continue every night on the lines in the brief space when they are clear - it is the failure to constantly maintain track that has created part of the problem. However he also added that he is trying to change a culture. If a breakdown happens at 1am the sole priority of the railway must be to get the kit off the line and do so before it is needed for the commuter service. It is clear this has not been the case.
I have been meeting the Rail Minister twice a week and flag with him immediately issues raised by constituents. I have particular voiced concerns over the crowding on a number of stations and especially East Croydon. I am very concerned about this situation. I am assured that more resources are being directed to help on the platforms.
I am very aware of the cynicism around "Delay Repay". Every issue raised I pass on to both Southern and the Minister - most recently the "non-automatic population" of claim forms for season ticket holders, it is at present the only system we have - though I hope to see improvements. I am pleased that the Government has formally announced that rail passengers will be able to claim compensation if their train is more than 15 minutes late. This will be introduced first on GTR services and then rolled out across the country. Passengers will now be able to claim 25% of the cost of the single fare for delays between 15 and 29 minutes and the existing compensation thresholds will apply for delays from 30 minutes with passengers able to apply for compensation. In addition to this, the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act for rail passengers on 1st October strengthened the right of passengers to claim compensation for poor service.
In addition to prospective compensation I want to see a financial recognition of what local train users have gone through over the last 6 months in particular and continue to press this case.
As I mentioned in my previous update, GTR are currently running a consultation on their plans to introduce a new timetable from 2018; you can view the details of these plans and respond to the consultation here: www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/timetable-consultation. As part of these plans, GTR had scheduled 'Meet the Manager' sessions at specific stations on the line. I insisted that they hold one at Horsham Station and I am pleased that a session is now due to take place on the evening of Thursday, 17th November. I will let you know the exact timing as soon as this is confirmed. Southern have yet to restore their full timetable and have been assured that a further 63 services will be running across the network from next Monday, and a further 46 from 31st October.
I appreciate that the trains remain nowhere near the level at which they should be operating, my local colleagues and I will continue to apply pressure.