First Great Western warned to improve or lose franchise
The government has stepped in to take action over persistent complaints of poor service on First Great Western.
The train company has been daubed Worst Late Western by passengers and season ticket holders held a “fare strike” last month in protest at late and overcrowded trains.
Transport secretary Ruth Kelly has now intervened to tackle the “unacceptably high level” of cancellations across the franchise.
The government has issued First Great Western with a Remedial Plan Notice which sets out how cancellations can be reduced.
It was issued after First Great Western exceeded the threshold for cancellations in the second half of last year and the company has been further issued with a Breach Notice for misreporting cancellations.
Lib Dem transport spokesman Norman Baker said the company was lucky not to lose its franchise after lying about cancellations although Ms Kelly said today this remains an option if First Great Western fails to improve service and the Department for Transport (DfT) has pledged to monitor improvements closely.
Amid widespread passenger dissatisfaction, First Great Western has been forced to accept a £29 million package of passenger benefits.
Compensation for passengers will double on previous levels until January 2009, where after it will remain at 50 per cent above present compensation rates,
The company has also agreed to make an additional 500,000 cheap off-peak tickets available for travel between April 1st and March 31st 2009.
With passengers complaining of extra crowding, First Great Western has promised additional trains on the Cardiff to Portsmouth route until 2011, by which point all trains should have an additional carriage.
It has also agreed to make immediate improvements to trains on the Thames Valley commuter trains, finishing refurbishments ahead of schedule by 2011.
This will benefit passengers on routes between London and Reading, Oxford and Newbury and services between Reading and Gatwick.
Failure to deliver on any of these could result in the government terminating First Great Western’s franchise, the DfT stressed.
Ms Kelly said: “The performance of First Great Western has fallen persistently short of customers’ expectations and has been unacceptable to both passengers and government.
“The measures I have announced today will lead to a reduction in train cancellations and also provide a substantial package of benefits to First Great Western’s customers.”
But the Conservatives argued the original franchise imposed on First Great Western had been “ill-thought-through and ill-advised”.
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers further maintained the government was still not taking the overcrowding crisis seriously.
Mr Baker said the government was right to take today’s action, agreeing First Great Western’s services had been a “disgrace”.
“The company must now deliver on these promised improvements. They have a last chance to get it right,” the Lib Dem transport spokesman said.
