CITY HALL CONSERVATIVES ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF NOT TRUSTING MAYOR WITH METRO TRAINS

City Hall Conservatives Transport Spokesman Thomas Turrell AM has today accused the Government of not trusting the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, with National Rail trains in London.

With National Rail services being absorbed into GBR, Great British Railways, Mr Turrell wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon. Heidi Alexander MP, to request that London routes be transferred to TfL - a process known as “metroisation”. Much like how Silverlink Metro services were given to TfL in the late 00s to become the London Overground, the proposals would see services which run between a London terminal and terminate either in London or just outside - such as Dartford - come under TfL responsibility. City Hall Conservatives argue this would lead to better harmonisation of the rail services Londoners use, leading to better quality of service.

However, the Transport Secretary has said in her response, that there are no plans to give these services to TfL; instead they will fall under the new GBR. Crucially, the Secretary of State does not rule out handing control of these lines to TfL in the future, but as yet no firm plans exist. Heidi Alexander MP was notably in support devolving metro lines to the Mayor of London when she was the Deputy Mayor for Transport. 

City Hall Conservatives say that this is just further proof that the Labour Government do not trust the Sir Sadiq Khan to oversee these services, at a cost to Londoners. 

In a quote, Mr Turrell, who is the Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, said,

“If his own Government can’t trust him, why should any Londoner? The nationalisation of the railways - whether we like it or not - represents an opportunity for London to expand its Overground network to improve services to those who rely on these rail lines. This would especially benefit Londoners in Outer London boroughs and South London for whom these services are part of their everyday commute. 

Instead however, Labour will disrupt the service with nationalisation, and then potentially disrupt it again at an unspecified date with transferring that to TfL. Cut out the middle man and give Londoners the services they deserve.”