Mayor of London hits out at Government for ‘abandoning’ Southern Rail commuters and begs for control of train lines
Sadiq Khan launched a blistering attack on Chris Grayling for failing to stop the three days of strikes, and called on ministers to take action
SADIQ KHAN has launched a blistering attack on the Government for failing Southern Rail commuters who face another three days of strikes this week.
The Mayor of London posted a series of tweets and videos this morning calling on ministers to give control of commuter lines to Transport for London in an attempt to gain control of the crisis.
He said today: "You pay too much for delays, cancellations and disruption. You deserve a better service.
"Southern Commuters have been abandoned by the Government. But it doesn't have to be like this."
He went on to slam the Government for failing to get the Southern Strikes cancelled, while TfL staff engaged with unions and got this week's action action called off.
A crippling three-day walkout begins today as driver's union Aslef take industrial action in a row over driverless trains.
The action on the Southern Rail line will plunge the south of England into chaos and 2,242 daily services will be cancelled. Experts estimate the action, which will affect 300,000 commuters, will cost the region around £20m a day.
But this morning the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, laid the blame firmly at the door of the unions, and accused them of refusing to meet with him.
RELATED STORIES
Mr Khan claimed that since he has become mayor, days lost to strikes on the underground have decreased by 92%, and begged the Government to give control of commuter lines like Southern, Southeastern and SouthWest to TfL.
"You'd get a more frequent and reliable service... and fewer strikes," Mr Khan said.
And fares would be more affordable due to his fare freeze, he claimed.
Earlier this month the Mayor's plans to take over London's suburban railways were halted in their tracks.
The transport secretary said there was a danger of "deckchair shifting" with no real improvement for passengers".
"This is far more important than party politics", he claimed, and called on commuters to write to the Prime Minister and Transport Secretary to ask them to act now.
The news comes as union bosses warned they could inflict 10 years of strike misery onto train passengers.
Mr Grayling said last night that the unions were trying to stop the current modernisation process and wanted to "start reversing 30 years of working practise changes right across the country".