'Thameslink passengers deserve better' - Minister

A transport minister has told MPs that the performance of the Thameslink rail service in Bedfordshire "has not been what we expect and passengers deserve better".

Simon Lightwood said performance on the route had recently improved, but it needed to be better.

He was speaking in a special debate called by Mid Bedfordshire MP Blake Stephenson, who complained that his constituents were being let down by frequent delays and cancellations, and were regularly using overcrowded carriages.

A Govia Thameslink Railway spokesperson apologised for the issues and said it was working with partners to improve.

Stephenson, a Conservative MP, read out a list of complaints from constituents about poor service and disrupted journeys.

"Too often overcrowded, standing-room-only carriages have become the norm. Too often the timetable is mainly a guideline and not a rulebook for when trains will arrive, and we pay more and more each year for services which deliver less and less," he said.

He cited an example of the 07:43 from Flitwick to St Pancras, which in the last 100 days he said had been cancelled 28% of the time and arrived more than five minutes late for 42% of journeys.

He was supported by neighbouring Labour MP Alistair Strathern, who represents Hitchin.

"The two most common bugbears are the lack of drivers to ensure they can consistently be putting on the services they're advertising, and that when those services go wrong... emergency taxis and buses are an afterthought," said Strathern.

In response, Lightwood said the government had made fixing Britain's railways "a top priority", but warned it would take time.

He said his officials were closely monitoring staffing levels on Thameslink and while there had been some recent improved performance, "this must be sustained and improved upon further".

Howard Malcolm, 65, told the BBC at Luton station he used the train five days a week for work, and said services were "about 75% reliable".

"I think it could do with a vastly improved service," he said.

"I work in Knightsbridge so I go to London St Pancras.

"Coming home in the evening, I try to pick up the 20:36 Thameslink from St Pancras. That train is predominantly cancelled a lot, or running late.

"I end up taking the East Midlands train from upstairs, which is mostly more reliable.

"The trains should run on time, they need to increase the level of reliability, particularly in the evenings," he said.

Bartly James Graham, 36, said: "Thameslink is one of the better companies train-wise."

He often uses the line between Bedford and Brighton.

"This morning in Kings Cross, there were multiple delays and cancellations with LNER, but Thameslink is always spot on time.

"They are by far one of better firms," he added.

Aliyah, 23, disagreed and said the Thameslink trains were "a bit unreliable, to be honest".

"On Sunday I couldn't get any train to work, so I had to get a bus. Usually they're quite late or they just get cancelled quite often from Luton," she said.

She also used trains to get to university and into London, and experienced disruption "quite often, usually when there's works on the line".

She believed the services should be "regulated better, so it doesn't impact people's journeys".

A spokesperson for Thameslink said: "Reliability has been better since the start of the year but our service has still been affected by external events, such as named storms, people trespassing on the track and fatalities.

"Other issues such as signal failures, power and track issues, lay outside our direct control, but we work closely with Network Rail to improve their reliability.

"Over the Christmas break, Network Rail replaced most of the rails on the Thameslink route across central London, and they have started nine weekends of engineering work to upgrade the overhead power lines."

It added that seasonal sickness and annual leave had caused difficulties with driver availability, but since the start of the year cancellations had fallen by two-thirds.

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