Andy
McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to
the fine given to Southern Rail today, said:
“It has taken over a year for the Transport
Secretary to reach this decision. Long-suffering passengers should not
have to resort to crowdfunding for legal action to seek accountability, and the
Secretary of State should not have to be dragged kicking and screaming by the
High Court to do the job he was appointed to do.
“Today’s fine is small change compared with the
£1.2billion Govia is paid to run passenger services and, with crucial parts of
the Gibb report redacted and a lack of detail on today’s decision, the
management of the Southern rail fiasco continues to lack transparency.
“Ultimately, the buck stops with the Government.
Tory ministers, who designed and awarded the franchise, have been ducking their
responsibility for Southern’s abysmal service and for directing this
unnecessary industrial dispute.
“A Labour government would stand up for the
interests of passengers rather than train companies, taking Southern back into
public ownership and creating a new body to have strategic oversight for the
railway to end the chaos and fragmentation that has plagued Southern.”
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