THE Secretary of State for Transport is to meet senior management at London Midland after an MP raised serious concerns about the standard of rail services for Northampton passengers.
Northampton South MP, Brian Binley, yesterday led a delegation to meet Patrick McLoughlin in the Commons in a fresh bid to improve rail services to the town.
The Conservative MP, who chairs the Northampton Rail Users Group, seized the initiative following a continued run of poor performance by London Midland, which runs services via Northampton to London and Birmingham.
More than 1,000 services were cancelled by London Midland in the final quarter of 2012 and three of the 10 most overcrowded routes run by London Midland are on routes affecting Northampton passengers
He said he had “pressed the case” on behalf of long-suffering rail users on one of the country’s most significant transport corridors.
Mr Binley said: “The Secretary of State agreed with our representation that the level of service received by Northampton rail users is very serious, and he undertook to talk with senior managers at London Midland.
“London Midland has provided an increasingly unattractive deal to rail users from Northampton: The relationship between the fares passengers pay and the performance they receive becomes increasingly intangible.
“London Midland has increased fares by grotesque amounts, and have seen their franchise extended by two years, despite cancelling thousands of trains and worsening levels of customer service.”
He added: “The price of a season ticket from Northampton to London Euston has increased by around £500 in just two years, which is not insignificant for those who rely on London Midland to be able to get to and from work each day.”
Mr Binley claimed passengers were becoming “understandably intolerant” of having to pay “extortionate” prices for poor quality performance.
He said: “Bad performance should be no less tolerated in the rail industry than in any other sector, and it is vital that ordinary passengers – through the Northampton Rail Users’ Group – can obtain greater understanding of what the Government can do to address the issues of poor performance over the last two years, including the basis and reasoning for recompense required, specific performance improvements for which London Midland can be held to account, and the considerations made by the Department for Transport in deciding to extend the franchise rather than the originally-planned re-franchising.
“I was delighted at the way the Secretary of State grasped our concerns, and undertook to talk with senior managers at London Midland. Northampton rail users are paying a heavy price for poor service, and that has to stop.
“It’s time for London Midland to deliver the service that passengers should have a right to expect.”
For details about the Northampton Rail Users’ Group, visit www.northamptonrug.org.uk