Anger as rail boss ejects people from First Class in packed commuter train
A RAILWAY boss came under fire yesterday for ordering commuters out of his First Class compartment on a delayed and packed train while he spread out over two seats.
Mark Boon, operations manager of Govia Thameslink, Southern Rail’s parent company, was photographed by Emma Fitzpatrick on a train to London with his bag on the seat next to him.
Ms Fitzpatrick, a commuter from Croydon, south London, said the rail boss was telling passengers to keep out of the otherwise empty section of a “late and very packed” service.
The image sparked outrage on social media, especially among Southern Rail passengers who have endured months of delays, overcrowded trains and cancellations. Sharing the photo on Twitter, she wrote: “Totally shocked to see Goviarailway Head of Operations, Mark Boon, telling all commuters to stay out of an empty First Class carriage on a late and very packed train this
morning. Meanwhile he took up two seats.” Ms Fitzpatrick said she joined the train en route to London Victoria.
GTR is among the railway companies criticised over the chaos brought about by the introduction of new timetables this year. A third apology in two
‘You shouldn’t be telling us where to sit or stand, you should be hanging your head in shame’
months has been published by Thameslink as it tries to overcome the issue. The Government has warned Govia it could lose its franchise if the new timetable failed to improve matters.
Last month, Charles Horton, chief executive of GTR, resigned after the disastrous implementation of timetables in May. Up to half of the trains operated by GTR were cancelled or severely delayed in the weeks that followed.
On arrival in London, Ms Fitzpatrick
confronted Mr Boon. “I said to him: ‘I can’t believe what you’ve done today, telling people they can’t sit down. As someone who is operations manager of a company that clearly isn’t operating very well, shouldn’t you be focused on more important things? You shouldn’t be telling us where to sit or stand, you should be hanging your head in shame.’ And he just looked at me dismissively and said, ‘Just put it in writing’,” she said.
Within hours of sharing the photo, Ms Fitzpatrick’s Tweet had been shared more than 800 times. Outraged Twitter users shared their disdain. Richie Northcote wrote: “There’s going to be some kind of commuter/passenger revolt soon, I can feel it bubbling.”
A Govia Thameslink spokesman said: “Passengers need a First Class ticket to travel in First Class and there were other people with First Class tickets in this compartment. This was an off-peak service running six minutes late and, while the front coaches were busy, there were seats and space in the rear coaches, as Mr Boon explained.”