Anne Main MP has slammed Network Rail (NR) for suggesting that passengers experiencing major delays in November were partly to blame for the disruption.

The email from NR was written in response to Anne’s letter on behalf of disgruntled commuters. It read,

‘[T]hat passenger information in the early stages was unclear, and, even when the disruption was advertised, many passengers were reluctant to use alternative trains […] and so disruption continued to be too high.’

The St Albans MP fumed, ‘palming off the blame to passengers who were just trying to get home is frankly outrageous.’

In the email, NR apologised for the disruption to services between the 8 November 2016 and 11 November 2016 and the impact this had on commuters. They admitted that ‘communication of alternative routes of travel available to passengers and earlier advice for next day service availability’ had to be ‘improved during future incidents and this is something’ that NR ‘are working closely with Train Operating Companies on.’

But this action came too late for Mrs Main, who said NR ‘should have had better lines of communication with Govia and passengers. People need to know why they have been delayed and what they can do to avoid disruption as quickly as possible.’ In light of this Anne said that she has submitted a question in anticipation of the council’s public meeting with rail representatives on February 2nd, asking about communication and what more passengers could have done.

Mrs Main went on to say that she still has not been updated on the pathing and scheduling strategy in relation to railfreight. She lamented ‘I’m still waiting to see any evidence of how railfreight will work in practice. Network Rail seem to operate a policy which is far more reactive than proactive.’