THAMESLINK AND GREAT NORTHERN RAIL FRANCHISE

Motion Text

That this House notes the Strategic Rail Authority's decision to invite expressions of interest for the new Thameslink/Great Northern franchise to be created by combining existing operations at Thameslink and Great Northern (currently WAGN) franchises; welcomes improvements in performance and reliability on South Eastern Trains since services returned to the public sector, and the significant reductions in delays attributable to infrastructure failure since Network Rail brought maintenance back in-house; and therefore believes that in order to ensure value for money the Government should integrate passenger services on the current Thameslink and Great Northern routes into the public sector as the franchises expire.