Following the continued poor performance of Southern Rail’s operation of the Uckfield line, Nus Ghani has raised the concerns of the thousands of Wealden residents who depend on the service with the Rail Minister, Paul Maynard MP.
The Uckfield line suffers from frequent cancellations, often multiple trains in a row, with little or no useful explanation from Southern. The late cancellations add hours to commutes and have often left Nus’ constituents stranded in London or Wealden. The lack of alternative transport causes untold problems for many Wealden commuters who are paying for a service which isn't delivered by Southern.
While Southern’s performance across the entire network has been widely criticised, Nus has further brought the Uckfield line to the attention of the Rail Minister today, January 4th 2018. The Uckfield line often takes the brunt of the vastly overstretched Southern network and the lack of investment, planning and communication by Southern is reflected in the appalling service. Only by following up on the recommendations of the Gibb Report last summer, which suggested electrification of the Uckfield line, will Wealden residents have a train service they can rely on.
Paul Maynard has confirmed that he will be convening a meeting with Southern’s parent company, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), at Nus’ request, and has invited Nus to attend.
Commenting on poor performance of Southern, Ms Ghani said: “The only thing you can depend on Southern for is an unreliable and temperamental service. My constituents deserve better than the frequent cancellations and poor communication, and there has been no sign of improvements in recent months.
Moreover, Southern deem it acceptable to undermine the service on the Uckfield Line to meet their timetable elsewhere. This is unacceptable.
I have raised this with the Rail Minister, along with the concerns of the thousands of constituents who have contacted me about Southern, and intend to meet with him and GTR to push for a reliable and acceptable service.
It is not ok that in the 21st century my constituents are unable to rely on the timetables published by Southern. I will continue to push hard to ensure that Southern provide a service fit for the needs of Wealden. Starting 2018 with a poor service and impending strike action once again explains why the Uckfield line is often branded the ‘misery line’.
I am pleased that the Minister has agreed to convene a meeting with GTR to secure an explanation of the poor service, woeful management and lack of staffing and planning on a service which has deteriorated. The future of the Uckfield line is dependent on electrification and I will continue to campaign for the full implementation of the Gibb report recommendations.”
