Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that Govia Thameslink Railway Limited operate the Southern and London Midlands franchises to a high standard.

The Department monitors each train operator’s overall performance - this includes regular meetings with their senior management where performance is scrutinised and challenged. There are clear actions set out in the franchise agreement should performance drop below what is expected. Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd is the company that operates the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise that includes Southern services. London Midland is a franchise in its own right.