Minister cancels MP meetings
Reporter SOME disgruntled MPs whose constituents have been affected by the rail timetable disruption have had meetings with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling rearranged due to high demand and a scheduling clash.
Mr Grayling and rail minister Jo Johnson were due to hold discussions with more than 60 MPs from 6pm to 10pm yesterday, but the former is making a statement to the Commons which is expected to run until at least 6.30pm.
MPs have been asked by Mr Grayling’s team if they can be “as flexible as possible”
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy said: “You literally could not make this up.
“The Department for Transport did not foresee the large numbers of MPs who would want a meeting, or that they might need to make a statement. Is there any understanding of the scale of this crisis in Whitehall?”
Andrew Gwynne, Labour MP for Denton and Reddish, described the situation as “beyond parody”.
Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones posted on Twitter: “Utterly couldn’t make it up.
“Serious suggestion for Chris Grayling. Why don’t we have one meeting tonight for all the MPs after your statement so we can get this sorted?”
Meanwhile, rail staff are continuing to bear the brunt of passengers’ anger over delays and cancellations to services, a union has warned.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said its members have faced abuse since new timetables were introduced last month.
The anger continued yesterday, especially on Northern, where an emergency timetable was launched, said the union.
General secretary Mick Cash said: “From the feedback on the ground and the stream of comments on social media it is clear that the so-called emergency timetables on both Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have just piled failure on to failure.
“Once again, it is RMT members at the sharp end, bearing the brunt of public anger at this latest shambles.
“If you draw up an emergency timetable that cancels trains to avoid cancelling trains and yet still cancel trains, you are not fit to run a bath, let alone a railway, and that is the absurd position that passengers are in this morning across both the north and the south.
“On any measure, both Northern and GTR must be in breach of their secret contractual obligations to provide a service to their fare-paying customers. They should be removed and the private franchises brought under public control.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “Our thanks go out particularly to the drivers and to all the staff of Northern Rail and GTR Southern, who have continued to work hard to provide a public service, in difficult circumstances, under great pressure, and sometimes subjected to much abuse, during the difficulties created by the failures of the Department for Trans-. port, Network Rail, and the train operating companies when they introduced new timetables.
“We are keeping an eye on the situation but would ask the travelling public to place the blame fairly and squarely where it belongs – on the shoulders of those in charge, and not on those of us who are working at the sharp end of the railway, and who are also trapped on trains, not knowing when we will get to our destinations or when we will get home.”