Andy Burnham has warned South Western Railway that it must improve its services after a summer of delays, disruption and cancellations. The Prime Minister said the railway network is “not good enough” and that he is calling a rail summit for later this year.
Public ownership and summer disruption
South Western Railway was the first train firm to be taken back into public ownership by the Labour Government. Passengers have suffered months of disruption on the commuter route for the capital, as they have on other rail services around the country, partly due to the series of heatwaves.
During a round of regional media interviews, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester told BBC South: “It will get better.
“I have experience of taking over public transport and then using that public control to deliver public benefit and I would be the first to acknowledge that the railways aren't there yet and we need to get our hands on it, a grip on it….and change the way the railways are working.
“We've had a difficult summer across the railway network, across all of England and the UK, to be honest.
“It isn't good enough.”
Rail summit announced
The Prime Minister added: “I think there's a long hangover from privatisation, if I'm honest with you.
“It led to high fragmentation, a breakdown in relations between the staff running the system and the management. The railways are in need of repair and that will take some time.
“I realise passengers can't wait forever, that's why I'm calling a rail summit for later this year to get underneath all of these issues, get a grip on the problems and also start to make rail travel more affordable for people too.”
Wider rail performance and other moves
A number of other rail companies had worse cancellation levels this summer than South Western Railway, with the highest proportion on Avanti West Coast, followed by CrossCountry and London Overground, according to analysis of data from the Office of Rail and Road.
The PM’s intervention came on the same day that Lord Sadiq Khan announced he was putting some London buses back into public ownership for the first time in 30 years.
South Western Railway last week launched Improving Your Railway, acknowledging recent challenges and setting out its short, medium and long-term plans to deliver a more reliable railway.
