The Commons broke for the Christmas recess on Tuesday but before MPs left for their constituencies I presented what is called a ‘Ten Minute Rule Bill,’ another form of a Private Member’s Bill but you have to put your case in ten minutes.
I used the opportunity to flag up what I believe has fundamentally contributed to the current shambles over Southern’s rail service and propose a solution. Notwithstanding the current industrial action by ASLEF and RMT where at the time of writing talks are ongoing at the arbitration service ACAS, there have been times when the rail operator has appeared to lack a sense of urgency about improving the poor service.
I have written before about the measures that are being taken to improve cooperation between Network Rail and GTR to deal with some of the infrastructure hotspots that are responsible for around 60% of delays. When this is the cause Network Rail pay compensation to Southern and it is up to inconvenienced commuters to claim compensation as they can if the problem is the direct responsibility of the rail operator like staffing shortages or train breakdown.
The problem is that only a minority of passengers actually claim compensation not least because it is a bureaucratic process. In addition we have no body with teeth to oversee complaints, adjudicate on the fairness of compensation payments and force the rail operator to get its act together. My Bill therefore would oblige Southern or any other rail operator automatically to pay fines into a pot regardless of how many people lodge a claim. A streamlined system would then enable passengers to claim compensation from this pot and last week I met a company who has developed a system where this can be down automatically based on a free to download app.
The pot would also help fund a proper Rail Ombudsman with real powers and whatever funds are left would be set against fare rises, again benefitting passengers who have put up with a shoddy service. That way the train operator would be stung far more for protracted poor service and the financial impact might ‘incentivise’ them to get their act together earlier. It is not a magic bullet and is no replacement for sorting out the immediate problems and probably restructuring the franchise arrangement in the New Year but it could certainly help by concentrating minds on the balance sheet.
May I wish all my constituents a Happy Christmas and rather more peaceful New Year than 2016 with hopefully a much more reliable train service.