Daisy Cooper MP has taken Thameslink commuters’ concerns directly to the Transport Minister in Parliament by asking him when he plans to fix the service. It comes after a survey named St Albans City the worst station from which to commute into London.
The “On Time Trains” website ranked 30 stations within an hour of the capital for punctuality, speed, frequency and value, and found that St Albans came last on the list.
It was one of only four stations to see their performance drop compared to 2018, the last time the survey was carried out.
It found that one train, the 1821 from St Pancras International, arrived on time in St Albans only 11 per cent of the time between May and December 2022.
Passengers have also complained directly to Daisy about the service and the conditions on Thameslink – which is why she has taken the complaints to the House of Commons.
In a debate in Parliament, the Liberal Democrat MP put her concerns to the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper. She raised the issues of punctuality, cancellations, and the price of tickets.
Following a statement about the West Coast Main Line operating firm Avanti, Daisy Cooper flagged up the Thameslink issues to the house:
“The Secretary of State seems to be celebrating a 4% cancellation rate on Avanti. May I invite him to look at the cancellation rate on Thameslink trains from St Albans City station, which is 8%? In fact, only 47% of our trains run on time, and our tickets are almost a third more expensive per mile than the average London commuter route, which means that St Albans is now rated the worst commuter station into London. Will the Secretary of State look at those cancellation rates and tell me when the prices affecting my constituency will go down and when reliability will go up?”
Mr Harper replied:
“We look at the performance of the rail network overall but, as the Chairman of the Transport Committee said, we need more transparent information. The most important thing is that lots of the issues to do with the performance of train operating companies are partly to do with infrastructure. Passengers do not care what causes the problems, which is why GBR, with its new regional structure, will ensure that we deliver a more joined-up system and better overall performance, which is what is ultimately important for the honourable Lady’s constituents.”
Daisy says that answer isn’t good enough.
“Delays and cancellations cause so much disruption and stress to people’s lives and this survey highlights just how bad the situation is here in St Albans.
“Whether it’s children trying to get to school or college, hospitality or health workers doing shifts, patients getting to appointments or parents rushing back from work to do the school pick up, people are just trying to get on with their lives, and are fed up of the late trains and extortionate ticket prices.
“As a daily commuter myself, this survey reflects both my own experience and the complaints I receive from residents.
“I’ll keep pressing the government to deliver.”