The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has announced the launch of a public consultation on a new franchise in the south-east, meant to improve journeys in south east London, Kent, the Medway towns and East Sussex. South Eastern handles 640,000 passenger journeys on 1,900 train services every weekday. The government is keen that passengers and local councils take the opportunity to shape what the next operator will deliver.
DfT’s ambitions for this franchise include: creating more space for passengers by running longer trains and upgrading or replacing older trains; increasing reliability and reducing delays by the train operator working closely with Network Rail; improving compensations arrangements with a simple automated system; introduction of a smarter payment system, including mobile phones; improving customer service.
“This consultation sets out what we expect the next operator to deliver for passengers, including working more closely with Network Rail to ensure a focus on performance, and innovative use of technology to improve both ticket buying and compensation if things do go wrong,” the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, said.
The DfT consultation will run for 10 weeks, closing on 23 May 2017.
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