‘It’s one rule for the South East and another for the rest of us’ – MP hits out at Government threat to strip Govia Thameslink of franchise but not Arriva Northern

Responding to the news that the Government have threatened to strip rail operator Govia Thameslink of its franchises following poor performance, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron said:

"The situation on trains in the South East has been unbearable for commuters and it's right that there are serious consequences for Govia Thameslink.

"But it simply doesn't make sense for the Government to make this threat to one failing train operator but to not even give a slap on the wrist to a company that have performed far worse.

"Over the past few months Northern have taken underperformance to new heights in the North West and created misery for thousands of people's lives.

"Here in Cumbria, Northern simply gave up trying to run any trains at all on the Lakes for an entire month. And we are now left in this unbelievable situation where they are running a limited service on the line, but with rail replacement buses at the same time because they have such little confidence in their own ability to actually run trains.

"It seems that it's one rule for the South East and another for the rest of the country, with the lives of thousands of passengers in the North West continuing to be thrown into chaos as a result."