The delays, cancellations and poor communication experienced by Thameslink users in recent months have been unacceptable. When myself and Tessa Jowell MP met with First Capital Connect (FCC) bosses last week, we made this clear and went through the deluge of complaints we have received on this issue.

We also told the company that passengers deserve to be properly informed of what is happening with their service. At our request, the operator agreed to run a ‘Meet the Manager’ event at Tulse Hill station, giving passengers the opportunity to discuss their concerns and problems directly. We also asked FCC to look into ways of improving its communication with passengers, including a daily email update service before passengers leave for work.

FCC acknowledged to us that their business model has failed to provide an acceptable level of service and informed us that they are in the process of overhauling their operations to improve reliability. We await to see whether passengers’ experiences improve, and are in regular contact with Transport Secretary Lord Adonis to monitor the situation and will not let up until a decent service is provided.

If the company fails to keep its promises we will press the government to take further action so I would be grateful if local residents could let me know if they notice any improvement by emailing me at chuka {at} streathamlabour.org(.)uk

Chuka Umunna
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham

Published in the Streatham Guardian, 4 February 2010