Greens: put Southeastern trains into public ownership

The Green Party is calling for public ownership of Southeastern train services Pic: Green Party

The Green Party is calling for public ownership of Southeastern train services Pic: Green Party

The Green Party has launched a petition calling for privately owned Southeastern train services to be brought under public ownership, after months of “wholly unacceptable” disruptions.

The petition also urges Transport for London (TfL) to take over the redevelopment of London Bridge Station.

Rail users in South East London have suffered months of disruptions and delays since the £6 billion refurbishments at London Bridge, which reduced the train lines that run through the station from seven to four, began in January.

The Green Party has said the move would “ensure the works were properly coordinated and placed in the hands of a body with experience of managing a number of highly successful rail projects in the capital”.

The delays caused by the redevelopment have made headlines, with some critics arguing that London Bridge station is unable to deal with the capacity of passengers travelling on reduced services at rush hour.

Reports earlier this month detailed how some passengers had to climb under and over ticket barriers in order to avoid being crushed.

Tom Chance, Co-Chair of the London Green Party and parliamentary candidate for Lewisham West and Penge, said: “I’ve seen the massive improvements that TfL have brought to the East London line.

“Passengers rate TfL much more highly in terms of reliability and value for money than privatised companies like Southern and Southeastern, and TfL do a much better job with our stations.

“So while we think public services like the trains should be publicly owned as a matter of principle, we also think it makes for a much better service.

“We can’t go on like this for long.”

The Green Party claims only “root and branch reform will end passenger misery” and also pledges to introduce a 12 per cent cut in rail fares if it is successful in the General Election.

The petition to “Take back London’s railways” can be found here.

Leave a Reply