Member Article

Khan rejects Grayling's Southeastern franchising proposal

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has rejected the latest proposals by Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, for improving the beleaguered commuter rail services in the south east.

Labelling Grayling’s plans as ‘fundamentally flawed’, Khan reasserted his desire for suburban rail services to be devolved to Transport for London (TfL) to help tackle the transport misery that many commuters have suffered in recent months.

Under Grayling’s plans, a TfL representative would have worked with the Department for Transport as part of team which oversees refranchising across the Southeastern rail network, something which Khan described as a ‘failed approach’.

In a letter to the Transport Secretary, Khan said: “Sadly the Government’s proposals for commuter rail services are no different to what we’ve seen before and I fear passengers will face more years of unacceptable service levels. It is a repeatedly tried and failed approach.

“I am therefore left with no choice but to walk away from the government’s fundamentally flawed plans.

“Londoners, councils, MPs and Assembly Members know the huge benefits that TfL can deliver. It’s not too late for the Transport Secretary to change his mind and deliver proper devolution for the good of long-suffering commuters inside and outside of London.”

Relations between Khan and Grayling have continued to sour after the DfT backpedalled on plans to devolve some suburban rail services to TfL.

Grayling had previously cautioned Khan to ‘stop playing politics’ over the Southern Rail strikes earlier this year and that he ‘did not accept’ that the Mayor of London should be responsible for running a train network that runs from Brighton to Southampton.

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