South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous raised the poor performance of London Northwestern Railway in the House of Commons yesterday. The exchange at Business Questions was as follows:
Andrew Selous MP: “May we also have a statement from the Secretary of State for Transport, as well as an urgent debate, on London Northwestern Railway, whose recent performance has been abysmal, as it is severely affecting the mental wellbeing of many of those who travel on it?”
The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP: “There is a great commonality of feeling across the House about rail services. Rail companies need to deliver, and to ensure that people have the service that they need and that trains run broadly on time.
The franchising system is being changed and the railway will be improved with an investment of £48 billion, the largest since the Victorian era, which I know many Members think is relatively recent but which was actually well over 100 years ago. There is also a £4.2 billion local public transport fund to enable city regions to upgrade their buses, trains and trams so that they are as good as those in London. This will help every part of the country, and it involves a very, very large amount of money, but I absolutely recognise the problems that are currently affecting constituents across the country.”
Speaking afterwards, Andrew Selous MP said:
“I am a London Northwestern Railway commuter myself, so I know how extremely difficult life has been for commuters on this route in recent months. It is very expensive to travel on the train every day into London and it is not acceptable that people have such a poor service or even a non-existent service at times. I am seeking a meeting with the Minister of State for Transport and to raise these concerns at greater length in Parliament.”