Has rail industry failed passengers? Here’s what transport secretary said

Amid timetable chaos

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said that the rail industry has “failed the passengers it serves” following the implementation of a new timetable, which caused mass chaos on GTR and Northern earlier this week.

In two letters to MPs, Grayling wrote: “We were aware that there might be some disruption in the early days of any new timetable change of this size, but the scale of the problem has far outstripped any expectation.”

The new timetable was finalised “much too late to permit adequate logistical planning” due to delayed Network Rail infrastructure works, he stated.

He also wrote that he is “frustrated” that what should have been a “good news story” about the introduction of new services and expanded capacity has had “such a poor start”.