Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, has been elected to Co-Chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Southern Railway, together with Hove MP Peter Kyle.
Regular, reliable and affordable rail services are crucial for a huge number of Wealden constituents, whether they are commuting into London for work or travelling locally from Uckfield, Buxted, Crowborough, Eridge and Wadhurst. However, Wealden passengers regularly have to put up with delays, cancellations, short form trains and overcrowding, especially on the Uckfield line.
The APPG’s work is focussed on the performance and reliability of the Southern Rail network across Sussex and securing infrastructure funding into the railway network in the area.
Last year, Nus successfully secured funding for multi-million-pound improvements to accessibility at Eridge and Crowborough stations. The existing staircases and bridge at Eridge station were removed and replaced with a new, modern footbridge last autumn and a new waiting room is due for completion this year.
Nus Ghani said: “Securing improvements to the substandard rail services in Wealden remains one of my priorities and I am pleased to be Co-Chairing the APPG and driving my agenda forward in another capacity. The service that Southern and its parent company, Govia Thameslink Railway currently offer is unsatisfactory and I will continue my work to secure better services for Wealden residents. Although the numbers of commuters have recently fallen in light of the pandemic, we need to ensure that passengers on the rail network get to their destinations quickly and safely once lockdown is over. Enhanced cleaning regimes have already been put in place to ensure passenger safety. Now we need to ensure that services run reliably.”
