Rail services on the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) network have long been a source of frustration for residents, particularly those who use Sandy and Biggleswade train stations. Unreliable timetables, frequent cancellations, and poor communication are disrupting daily commutes and, in some circumstances, impacting job security. Following a week of severe service failures in February 2020, Richard has been working with Rail User Groups (RUGs) and ward and town councillors to hold GTR accountable and push for improvements.
Since March 2020 Richard, along with local RUGs and ward and town councillors, has held regular meetings with GTR to push for progress. You can read more about these meetings here and here.
In addition to these meetings Richard has met with GTR Executives in Parliament on multiple occasions and put passenger’s questions directly to them. You can read more here and here.
Since the start of these conversations there have been some improvements with the launch of a new fast peak-time services for Biggleswade (06:35 to London, 17:42 return) in June 2024 and the addition of two more peak-time trains in December 2024. But GTR’s progress to implement solutions for the poor service delivery has been nowhere near effective or efficient enough.
Time and again, GTR have offered explanations for problems but provided little meaningful change. GTR say more drivers have been recruited but there has been little, if any, noticeable difference in service delivery.
Following the unacceptable level of service delays and cancellations this summer, Richard requested a meeting with local GTR representatives to demand answers and action. He expressed his strong dissatisfaction with GTR’s lack of visible progress and asked for solutions that provide evident results rather than more words. Unsatisfied with the outcome of this meeting, Richard escalated the matter to GTR’s Chief Operating Officer, John Whitehurst, who met with Richard in Parliament in September. As a result of this meeting, Mr Whitehurst committed to developing a plan to address the specific issues affecting the Peterborough to London line. Richard is currently awaiting an update from Mr Whitehurst and his team.
In September 2025, the Government announced that GTR would transfer to public ownership on 31 May 2026.
For more information on Richard's work with GTR, please see below.
