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Progress Made At MPs Meeting With Secretary Of State
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Rob Wilson, Member of Parliament for Reading East, today welcomed the progress made by Thames Valley MPs at a meeting with Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, concerning problems First Great Western's delivery of its service.
The Secretary of State and his Department have put a Recovery Plan in place to improve the appalling situation that many commuters and businesses have faced over the past few months. The Recovery Plan co-ordinates the work of Network Rail, FGW and the Department as one of the problems has been each of Party's has been blaming the others for the problems! The Plan has 40 actions and a timetable that has to be adhered to and covers all elements of the service to commuters. The Secretary of State has also agreed with FGW that a new May timetable will be introduced to right many of the problems that have been caused by the introduction of the December timetable. The Department for Transport will also keep FGW's performance against its commitments under review and said it will not hesitate to use its "draconian powers" if expectations are not met by the company. Thames Valley MPs will now meet the Chairman of FGW and the CEO of Network Rail to keep the pressure for change high up their agenda. Rob Wilson commented: “ I think we have achieved a great deal, but it is the start of a process to improve rail transport for my constituents not the end. "There will not be a sudden overnight improvement, but the measures underway should show change over the coming weeks and months. As a commuter myself using FGW, I will certainly be keeping the pressure on the company to deliver on its commitments and I know my constituents will settle for nothing less. "I am thoroughly fed up with FGW blaming everybody else and failing to provide a decent service! It put up or shut up time, as one way or the other change is coming! ” 28/02/07 |
