Rail service not been good enough, says c2c boss

Railway management has agreed to meet with MPs after apologising to passengers and acknowledging its service "hasn't been good enough".

On Wednesday eight MPs wrote to bosses at the rail operator c2c and Network Rail Anglia to ask them to a meeting in Parliament to discuss "unacceptable" rail services in recent months.

In an open letter, Jen Craft, the Labour MP for Thurrock, said constituents had "faced repeated and prolonged periods of disruption" when travelling between south Essex and London.

Great British Railways (GBR) Anglia, the joint leadership team of train operators Greater Anglia and c2c and track operator Network Rail Anglia, said recent services fell below its standards.

The letter was also signed by Labour MPs James Asser and Margaret Mullane, Independent MP Bayo Alaba, and Conservative MPs Richard Holden, Julia Lopez, Mark Francois and Rebecca Harris, who all represent constituencies serviced by the c2c route.

Rob Mullen, the chief customer and commercial officer at GBR Anglia, said: "We're really sorry that the service to passengers on the c2c network hasn't been good enough of late and fully recognise that those travelling to work, school, appointments and other commitments have faced a lot of disruption.

"The service our customers rightly expect has been way below the standards we want to provide as we continue to deal with a number of significant challenges.

Last month, GBR Anglia apologised to passengers travelling between London and south Essex who have faced weeks of delays after a freight train derailed in Barking, London, on 23 October, which caused "extensive" damage to 1.2km (0.75 miles) of track.

Mullen said the organisation was "working hard" to restore services through Barking and were looking to strengthen the resilience of their infrastructure, including preparing for extreme weather.

He added GBR Anglia would "welcome" the opportunity to meet MPs to address their concerns.

Craft, who commutes on the c2c route, said she felt it had been "one thing after another" with services this year.

"I remember when my dad used to commute back in the early 90s," she said.

"It was London, Tilbury, Southend, but they used to call it 'the misery line' and we definitely don't want to see a return to that."

She added that incidents such as the derailment "can happen", but she criticised the speed of response.

Craft hoped the wider nationalisation project would make it easier to get answers from the bosses.

"For far too long, both rail companies and Network Rail have basically been able to point the finger at each other and say, 'It's not me'. But hopefully we'll be able to see that change going forward," she said.

She told BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson that passengers felt they had received "really poor communication" from c2c.

On Wednesday, c2c posted on X advising customers not to travel on the Ockendon or Rainham lines due to signalling issues.

Craft said: "Well, that's every single train out of Grays."

She said commuters needed to know how long trains would be out of service, rather than being told generally to "avoid those two lines".

"That's not an option for people who live in my part of the world to avoid both of those lines if they're hoping to use the train to get to work," she said.

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