I was pleased to meet with the Rail Minister, Huw Merriman MP recently to discuss South Western Railway and local maintenance and service standards. Having raised several concerns with local rail services, including the interchange at Weybridge and repeated issues with lifts and station access, the Minister shares my concern that disabled access at Weybridge has been out of action 1 day out of every 4 over the past year (!), causing severe disruption and stress to those who rely on it.
In 2021, the Williams Review of British railways, commission by the Government, found that “too often railways are not getting the basics right”. This is evident in the issues and concerns reported to me on a regular basis by residents, and from my own experience as a frequent rail passenger.
In response the Government announced plans to reform the way our rail network operates and creating a new public body, Great British Railways, which will bring together many of the current segmented elements of our railways. This body will own the infrastructure, run and plan the network, organise the timetables, and set most fares.
The reforms will also replace the franchise system with new passenger service contracts, similar to those used to run London buses and the London overground; and reform and upgrade the fares system.
Legislation will be introduced in the next parliamentary session to deliver this, and the Minister informed me of the work already ongoing to prepare for these changes and implement service improvements across the network. I was reassured that the Minister stated the Department for Transport will continue to monitor local maintenance and service levels.
I will continue to campaign for improvements to local services and work with Ministerial colleagues to deliver for our residents.
