The new boss of rail franchise Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has been questioned by Conservative MP and parliamentary candidate Mims Davies over services on the East Grinstead line.
"I met with Angie Doll, who will be taking over as CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) at the end of November, and Phil Hutchinson, GTR’s Strategic Manager to discuss services from East Grinstead station", says Mims.
This is a long running sore for local residents who have not seen anything like the return of services post COVID that they need into the capital. I have continued to lobby and engage with Transport Ministers on this matter. I know my constituents who are commuters and regular travellers to London which at around 20 miles away simply should not be so hard to get to or get home from", she added.
"We had a positive discussion, and I was again very robust on my constituents’ behalf. They took away a number of issues constituents had raised, particularly the failure to run a reliable service, very much including the lack of delivery of the 07.14am service to the capital which so many people rely on but can’t depend on as they know this service frequently disappears and is creating real upset and angst weekly.
"It sets the tone of the travelling experience, and my constituents deserve better than to worry into Sunday evening and first thing on Monday morning as to whether that train will be scheduled. Angie and I had a very clear discussion on the needs of our community and why simply this must change. Her new role gives her further oversight and I am determined that these discussions won’t be in vain, and my constituents will receive the service they pay for and rightly expect.
"Furthermore, we discussed the concerning removal of all Thameslink services on the East Grinstead line during the week beginning 2nd October. Written responses to various issues raised will be provided and I will share these with constituents who have contacted me about this.
"I hope to bring Phil and Angie down to East Grinstead to meet with me to hear directly from commuters soon. I will keep you fully abreast of when this will happen and my ongoing push to get the services on this line that we can all rely on so that the stress, anger and concerns can finally be a thing of the past."
