MP to keep an eye on railway service

Mr Herbert said he had received complaints from many constituents about poor performance on the Arun Valley line linking Bognor with London Victoria through his Arundel and South Downs constituency.

He recently met David Scorey, the franchise improvement director of Southern Railway, to discuss the matter.

Mr Scorey has since acknowledged the running of trains during the past winter ‘has not been at the level we aim to deliver nor what our passengers have rightly come to expect’.

He also stressed the company was ‘determined to address the performance issues and regain the confidence of our passengers’.

Mr Herbert said: “I welcome the company’s candid recognition recent performance has not met the expectations of passengers. I am glad they are taking urgent steps to improve the service, as well as ensuring there are better preparations for extreme winter weather. I will be monitoring the standard of service closely on both the Brighton and Arun Valley lines.”

Three main factors affected the service – poor reliability of tracks and signals, too many trains breaking down and congestion.