Minister puts First Great Western on final warning

3.20.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th May 2008

A delegation of MPs from the South West met with Rail Minister Tom Harris MP today to seek assurances that robust steps will be taken if First Great Western fails to deliver the improvements in its service that have been promised to customers.

The much criticised train operator is to be tied into a 'remedial plan' with the Department of Transport which will be published soon. It sets out the company's obligations to improve the punctuality and reliability of its service. At today's meeting the MPs pressed the Minister for a reassurance that the company will be held to its contractual obligations. The Minister assured them that any material breach of these commitments could lead to the suspension of the franchise.

They were also given commitments that the Department for Transport will cooperate by supporting the company as it seeks to improve capacity on its services. The Minister promised that the Department's rolling stock procurement plan will help ease overcrowding by making 52 extra carriages available to First Great Western to be phased in from 2009.

The MPs now want to hear from constituents about their experience of the service in the coming months so they can make sure that the promised improvements are really being delivered to passengers. This will be reported to Mr Harris at the Department of Transport.

Commenting Andrew George, MP for the West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constituency of St. Ives, said;

"This is a make or break moment for First Great Western. Either they deliver the improvements which they are contractually obliged to or they lose the right to run the service. Let's see the company show that they really can give the passenger a decent service".

Colin Breed, MP for South East Cornwall, added;

"The acknowledgement by First Great Western that their service has not been satisfactory is welcome but it is now time for them to put this right and deliver the rail service they promised when applying for the franchise".

Julia Goldsworthy, MP for Falmouth and Camborne, commented;

"First Great Western need to show that they are committed to delivering a high level of service across their franchise area. They must give due attention to lifeline services in the far South West, which all too often have borne the brunt of service problems elsewhere.

"What we need now are assurances from FGW that rolling stock and punctuality in services to and from the South West are up to the standard of that elsewhere. They must acknowledge their failings in these areas to date and recognise that they still have much to do if they are to convince passengers that improvements are on the way.