Sam Gyimah MP

On Thursday 6th March Sam Gyimah MP hosted a meeting between Southern Rail, Network Rail, and a panel of regular train users from the East Surrey constituency.

The meeting was called by Mr Gyimah in response to a rise in constituents contacting his office with concerns about local rail services. Southern Rail operate trains throughout East Surrey, including along the lines towards Caterham, East Grinstead, Uckfield, Redhill and Horley.

The discussion was held at the Community Hall in Oxted, where a landslip caused extensive disruption to rail services last month. The meeting ran beyond 9.30pm in the evening and was an opportunity to explore in depth the concerns of commuters about issues including overcrowding on trains, increasingly frequent disruption to services, refunds and potential options to introduce greater flexibility in tickets available.

Southern Rail and Network Rail have formulated a performance improvement plan to address shortcomings in service over recent months, and a further meeting will be held to monitor progress.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Gyimah said: “I am pleased to have been able to convene this meeting and for constituents to raise their concerns directly with Southern Rail and Network Rail. Many people in East Surrey depend upon these services for their daily commute into work, and they have the right to expect a consistent quality of service. "Whilst I was encouraged by the performance improvement plan set out by Southern Rail and Network Rail, I will continue to listen carefully to the feedback I receive from constituents on this issue and monitor progress moving forward.”