MP forces emergency Government statement on First Capital Connect
Press Release :
12 November 2009
In the face of ongoing disruption on First Capital Connect (FCC) services to London, St Albans MP Anne Main called the Transport Minister to Parliament today to explain what he would be doing to ensure that action is taken to resolve the situation.
Anne took the matter to the floor of the House of Commons after a frank exchange with Liam Ludlow, Customer Relations Manager at FCC, yesterday, in which she expressed her acute dissatisfaction with the ongoing disruption of passenger services on the line, and the announcement that the service would be operating on a 50% timetable as of today.
In Parliament yesterday evening, Anne said:
“I am sure that the House is fully aware of the absolute chaos on First Capital Connect train services, which are deteriorating enormously. It was a great shock when I was told this evening that, as of this evening, the timetable will reduce to a 50 per cent permanent timetable, as there are not enough staff to man the trains. Will the Secretary of State for Transport come to the House and address it on that crucial commuter service?”
The Speaker agreed to Anne’s request for a rare Urgent Question and the Transport Minister, Chris Mole MP, was called Parliament this morning to give an emergency statement.
Following the Urgent Question, Anne said:
“Local people are fuming at the lack of adequate service on a route they rely on to commute to work every day. These drastically reduced services and cancellations are the latest we have had to endure on a route which frequently fails to deliver the level of service we deserve.
I am pleased the Transport Minister was forced to come to the House to be held to account on what he is doing to ensure that FCC deliver a better service. However, I was amazed when he admitted that his department had granted permission for FCC to run a reduced service, and went on to say that his only plans he had were to ‘monitor’ the situation.
This is not good enough, and it was appalling that he hadn’t even taken time to let the MPs on the route know what was happening. I believe the franchise is an important tool here, and the Government should use it to step in and help to sort out this mess. It is no coincidence that the drivers are all acting in the same fashion. This is, in effect, a privately organised strike, holding passengers to ransom.
Frankly, this whole episode is a disgrace. We already suffered cattle-truck conditions and FCC have been promising for years that they will sort this out. With this reduced service we are facing a new situation where trains aren’t just crowded, people physically can’t get on them by the time they arrive at St Albans, and lower down the route.
Tickets are very expensive and passengers have a right to expect a realistic timetable delivered as agreed by the franchise and adequate, reliable services. I will continue to press the Minister to step in as a matter of urgency if the correct franchise agreement and timetable isn’t resumed as soon as possible.”
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