Government ‘considering taking direct control of Southern Railway franchise’
The challenges of relying on this line blight many rural commuters in the South of England. I for one think there would be some real merit in a return to public ownership. The East Coast Mainline was a pleasure to use when we owned it and it made money for the tax payer. I have recently been musing on the potential of a rural national wealth fund, harnessing the capacity of public sector assets to address some of the worst impacts of the rural premium, but that’s another story….This one tells us:
The Government is considering taking direct control of the rail franchise which includes Southern Railway, it has been claimed.
Rail Business Intelligence magazine said the Department for Transport was preparing a number of options, ranging from splitting off Southern from Govia Thameslink Railway, to a complete “managed exit” to take direct control of the entire franchise until a new contract could be let.
The plan has its own codename and a potential interim managing director has been identified, said the magazine.
The news came as talks continued between Aslef and Southern to try to resolve a row over driver only trains, one of the disputes which has affected services for several months, as well as staff shortages and other problems.
The talks started a week ago, but neither side has commented on whether any progress is being made.
A small number of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Southern went on strike on Wednesday and will walk out again on Friday.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Instead of dragging this farce out any longer the Government should now do the decent thing, pull the plug on the GTR contract, take the lines under public control and draw a line under this shambles that shames Britain’s railways.
“As part of that process they should get round the table with the union and reach a genuine and lasting negotiated settlement to the ongoing guards safety dispute.
“Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should stop pussy-footing about, get his act together and get Southern/GTR off the tracks before more damage is done.”