Rail companies respond to questions raised by commuters

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Network Rail have responded to questions raised by rail passengers following disruption to train services between London and St Albans.

Earlier this year, commuters were invited to submit questions for rail executives to answer by St Albans City and District Council’s Planning, Resources and Housing Scrutiny Committee.

Twenty-two people responded with 68 questions covering topics such as service performance, compensation for delays, ticket pricing, train capacity and improvements that are needed.

These were then put to GTR and Network Rail executives when they were questioned by Committee members at a meeting on 2 February.

As the rail executives were unable to answer all the submitted questions within the meeting, they agreed to supply the Committee with written responses at a later date. These responses are now available below.

At the meeting, GTR executives admitted that the train service had been poor. They revealed that only 75.1 per cent of trains arrived within five minutes of their scheduled time between 11 December 2016 and 7 January this year.

Cllr Roma Mills, Chair of the Planning, Resources and Housing Scrutiny Committee, said: “Passengers are quite rightly concerned about performance of the train service between St Albans and London. This is reflected in the number and type of questions they have raised. The Committee will consider the responses in detail and continue to monitor the train service ahead of our next meeting with the rail companies later this year.”

The agenda and minutes of the meeting on 2 February are available on the Council's website. A webcast of the meeting is also available online. ((Please contact Democratic Services if you would like to see this webcast DemocraticServices@stalbans.gov.uk) 

Councillor contact:
Cllr Roma Mills, Chair of the Planning, Resources and Housing Scrutiny Committee
Tel: 017 01727 837319
Email: cllr.r.mills@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Senior Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil

Questions from Members of the Public on Rail Services and Rail Providers Responses (PDF - 393 kb)