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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/13/thameslink-commuters-govia-chris-grayling-rail-industry
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| Thameslink commuters have had enough. We need a new deal | Thameslink commuters have had enough. We need a new deal |
| (5 months later) | |
| On Tuesday, normally mild-mannered commuters from St Albans waved placards and chanted outside London’s St Pancras station in protest at the new Thameslink timetable, which has brought misery to thousands of people. Inspired by those who protested against Govia’s Southern Rail, Govia Thameslink passengers are also now taking to the streets. | On Tuesday, normally mild-mannered commuters from St Albans waved placards and chanted outside London’s St Pancras station in protest at the new Thameslink timetable, which has brought misery to thousands of people. Inspired by those who protested against Govia’s Southern Rail, Govia Thameslink passengers are also now taking to the streets. |
| Delays and cancellations have been a daily occurrence since the new timetable was introduced in late May, but those at least are recorded by the industry. It’s the physical, mental, financial and professional impact that takes its toll the most, but this isn’t factored into any offer of compensation. This is why St Albans commuters are taking matters into our own hands. | Delays and cancellations have been a daily occurrence since the new timetable was introduced in late May, but those at least are recorded by the industry. It’s the physical, mental, financial and professional impact that takes its toll the most, but this isn’t factored into any offer of compensation. This is why St Albans commuters are taking matters into our own hands. |
| I’ve set up a Facebook group for St Albans commuters to collect evidence of this broader impact, and it makes for grim reading. Already, a damning dossier has been sent to the cross-party transport select committee. These are just some of the examples they will have read: nurses and midwives late for their shifts; heavily pregnant women squashed in so badly they can’t reach the priority seats; fraught parents jostling to get the next train so they’re not fined by the school for picking up their children late. | I’ve set up a Facebook group for St Albans commuters to collect evidence of this broader impact, and it makes for grim reading. Already, a damning dossier has been sent to the cross-party transport select committee. These are just some of the examples they will have read: nurses and midwives late for their shifts; heavily pregnant women squashed in so badly they can’t reach the priority seats; fraught parents jostling to get the next train so they’re not fined by the school for picking up their children late. |
| The great timetable fiasco: what’s gone wrong with England’s railways? | |
| Passengers are fainting from the crush, members of the deaf community and disabled people are nearly in tears at the confusion of trains changing platforms and disappearing off the information board altogether, and low-paid workers are being forced into taking leave or losing work because they simply can’t get to their destination on time. | Passengers are fainting from the crush, members of the deaf community and disabled people are nearly in tears at the confusion of trains changing platforms and disappearing off the information board altogether, and low-paid workers are being forced into taking leave or losing work because they simply can’t get to their destination on time. |
| Thousands more are stressed, exhausted, and worried about losing their jobs as their reputations at work are tarnished by being late several times a week. Commuters know they are testing the patience of their bosses and co-workers who simply don’t believe that “the train was running late – again”, “the train was cancelled – again”, “the train was delayed because someone fainted – again”. | Thousands more are stressed, exhausted, and worried about losing their jobs as their reputations at work are tarnished by being late several times a week. Commuters know they are testing the patience of their bosses and co-workers who simply don’t believe that “the train was running late – again”, “the train was cancelled – again”, “the train was delayed because someone fainted – again”. |
| And who is responsible? Who is accountable? Who is the person that passengers can turn to? No one, it seems. There are calls for the transport minister, Chris Grayling, to resign, but local Conservative MPs voted against that in parliament. There are calls for Govia Thameslink to lose its franchise. But this seems unlikely. The government’s threat to pull the franchise within two weeks if performance doesn’t improve conveniently coincides with the third version of the “new” timetable, so hold on to your hats: if services do improve (from the current very low base), the government will probably claim disingenuously next week that its threat worked. The Govia Thameslink boss, Charles Horton, resigned but his replacement doesn’t have the greatest record (he was in charge of London Midland when it lost its franchise last year). It doesn’t inspire confidence. | And who is responsible? Who is accountable? Who is the person that passengers can turn to? No one, it seems. There are calls for the transport minister, Chris Grayling, to resign, but local Conservative MPs voted against that in parliament. There are calls for Govia Thameslink to lose its franchise. But this seems unlikely. The government’s threat to pull the franchise within two weeks if performance doesn’t improve conveniently coincides with the third version of the “new” timetable, so hold on to your hats: if services do improve (from the current very low base), the government will probably claim disingenuously next week that its threat worked. The Govia Thameslink boss, Charles Horton, resigned but his replacement doesn’t have the greatest record (he was in charge of London Midland when it lost its franchise last year). It doesn’t inspire confidence. |
| Ministers urged to up public spending on rail, green energy and digital | |
| What about the Office of Rail and Road? Network Rail? The Transport Focus watchdog? The Rail Industry Readiness Board? And who in Thameslink, its parent company Govia or the even bigger Go-Ahead Group can give commuters answers? This spaghetti bowl mess that is the rail industry protects everyone except the ordinary folk trying to get to work. | What about the Office of Rail and Road? Network Rail? The Transport Focus watchdog? The Rail Industry Readiness Board? And who in Thameslink, its parent company Govia or the even bigger Go-Ahead Group can give commuters answers? This spaghetti bowl mess that is the rail industry protects everyone except the ordinary folk trying to get to work. |
| Well, commuters have had enough. We’re taking matters into our own hands. The industry and the government have failed us. The current system combines the worst of privatisation and the worst of nationalisation. Passengers need a new deal: we need legislation to give passengers and workers the right to own and manage their own railways in a new mutual. | Well, commuters have had enough. We’re taking matters into our own hands. The industry and the government have failed us. The current system combines the worst of privatisation and the worst of nationalisation. Passengers need a new deal: we need legislation to give passengers and workers the right to own and manage their own railways in a new mutual. |
| We’ve started collecting the evidence of industry failures ourselves, we’ll make recommendations to the forthcoming inquiry by the transport select committee, and we’ll stamp our feet and shout until the immediate shambles is sorted out and passengers have new rights to make sure this mess can never happen again. | We’ve started collecting the evidence of industry failures ourselves, we’ll make recommendations to the forthcoming inquiry by the transport select committee, and we’ll stamp our feet and shout until the immediate shambles is sorted out and passengers have new rights to make sure this mess can never happen again. |
| • Daisy Cooper was the Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans in the 2017 general election and is a daily Thameslink commuter | • Daisy Cooper was the Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans in the 2017 general election and is a daily Thameslink commuter |
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