LONDON BRIDGE STATION
On the floor of the House of Commons on Thursday, 5th March, Sir Nicholas Soames MP in a question to the Rail Minister, Claire Perry MP, called for compensation for passengers who have been severely inconvenienced by Network Rail and Southern Railway’s failures at London Bridge.
Commenting Sir Nicholas said; “The House was strong in its support for this call and I was delighted with the Minister’s response.
“A great deal is going on to try and resolve some of these difficulties and I will keep all my constituents informed.”
Oral Answers to Questions
TRANSPORT
House of Commons
Thursday 5 March 2015
Railway Stations: Traffic
Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con): Further to that point, we all want to see improvements to these stations, but the deplorable failure of Network Rail in what is, of course, a very complicated scheme in any event and the failure of the train-operating companies to deliver new timetables within such constraints has led to inexcusable delays and inconvenience for my constituents. Will my hon. Friend consider giving all those people who have had to travel into London Bridge during this period compensation for the cost of their tickets to reflect the very serious conditions with which they have had to deal?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Claire Perry: I thank my right hon. Friend, who has been an assiduous commentator and critic of the current system. Like me, he is absolutely determined that this unprecedented investment is felt by passengers. That is why the Government are spending £38 billion on passenger improvements. I completely agree that a compensation scheme is required, and we are currently looking at providing one.