I’m frustrated that the competition to find a new operator for Kent’s railways has been cancelled.
The Department for Transport announced on 7 August that it would be scrapping the competition to find a new operator for the South Eastern rail franchise, which runs train services across Kent. The Government has said it wants to wait for a report on the rail industry – due to be published later this year – before making any decisions.
The current operator – Govia – will now continue to run South Eastern until April 2020.
There have already been so many delays to a new company taking over, which has delayed improvements which rail users desperately need.
I’ve asked for an urgent meeting with the Rail Minister to make sure that upgrades to the service, such as increasing capacity and reducing poor performance, can happen as soon as possible.
