Sir Nicholas attended, with other Members who represent constituencies on the Brighton line, a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport and the Rail Minister on Monday, 14th November in the House of Commons.

To be absolutely frank it was a fraught and angry meeting.  All Members of Parliament were of one mind as to the catastrophic failure of the service and the urgent need for more dramatic steps to be taken.

The Secretary of State was left in no doubt about the mood of the meeting and he led a discussion on further work that is taking place as a matter of urgency.

Very strong views were expressed by Members of Parliament on the need for urgent action on fares and on the compensation and on the deep frustration of the Unions’ behaviour which combined with the infrastructure failings and difficult operating problems is leading to an inadequate service.

There are no easy answers but Sir Nicholas looks forward to hearing from the Secretary of State in the very near future about what are his latest proposals.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Southern Railway, which Sir Nicholas Co-Chairs with Peter Kyle MP, is holding a further meeting with Chris Gibb on the 6^th December to hear an update on the work of the project Board which Mr Gibb is heading to help improve resilience of the Southern network. Members of Parliament will be in daily contact with the Rail Minister and the Department for Transport.