Rail Timetabling Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Department for Transport

Rail Timetabling

Mohammad Yasin Excerpts
Monday 4th June 2018

(6 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

As I said a moment ago, the rail Minister and I are happy to talk to individual colleagues on both sides of the House to look at places where there are issues of this kind. There are rolling timetable changes each year. If we can look at cases where a town has genuinely been disadvantaged, we can see what we can do to sort that out.

Mohammad Yasin Portrait Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)
- Hansard - -

Bedford rail users who lost their peak time East Midlands Trains service are still facing the misery of cancellations and delays. Trains are leaving St Pancras half full and are whizzing past Bedford, while my constituents have been forced on to dangerously overcrowded Thameslink trains. This is absolutely ridiculous. Will the Secretary of State stop making excuses and reinstate the Bedford EMT service today?

Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I have already asked the industry to look at whether it can restore some of the East Midlands Trains services to ease the pressure on Bedford in the interim period, while this disruption is happening. It seems a logical thing to do, given that the train paths are not being occupied by Thameslink at the moment.