Richard has received an 'action plan' from GTR following their meeting last month. This can be read below.
Commenting on GTR's plan, Richard said:
When I met with GTR's COO in early September, I left the meeting with some degree of hope that here was someone who 'got it', who was committed to genuinely tackling the myriad issues and making a tangible difference to the blighted lives of those rail users unfortunate enough to rely on the train service from Sandy and Biggleswade. With only two trains per hour, this is a unique commuter route. That means every cancellation or serious delay wipes out a significant portion of the service โ leaving passengers who use Sandy and Biggleswade railway stations with no alternative and no way to reliably get to where they need to be.
The words below represent the 'action plan' I received following that meeting. Regrettably this falls short of the robust, detailed and benchmarked plan that I was hoping for. I fear that whilst most of the initiatives are positive and deserve a guarded welcome, the overall package falls short of the radical overhaul required to adequately address the scale of failings. The improvements will be modest at best and on such an extended timetable that they will offer only the tiniest crumbs of comfort to my long-suffering constituents. Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the high level of sickness drops back to more manageable levels now that summer is over!
I will be meeting again with GTR at a 'drop-in' event in Parliament on Monday, October 20th and will push them to improve the situation. Please email me at [email protected] with any recent experiences and observations that may be useful at this event on Monday.
Earlier this month, GTR were given a nationalisation date of May 2026. Richard commented previously that he doesn't see this as a 'silver bullet' that will solve the problems. Meanwhile, GTR have absolutely no incentive to improve the situation over the coming months.
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐๐
๐๐ช๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ. ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐. ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ง๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ช๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ข๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐.
๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ข๐ข๐๐ง, ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง-๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ-๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฉ-๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐๐จ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐จ. ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ. ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ช๐๐-๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐, ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ.
๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ. ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ญ, ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐๐จ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐ช๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ข๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ 90, ๐ค๐ง ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ 8% ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ.
๐๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ. ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐จ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ. ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ค๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ช๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐จ๐ช๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ฎ. ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐. ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ โ ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ-๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐๐จ. ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ (๐จ๐ค ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐) ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ช๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ.
๐ฟ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ก๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ, ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ. ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ช๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฌ๐โ๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐๐ง๐จ.
