STORY
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has declined calls for passengers to receive discounted tickets when rail replacement services and extended journey times are imposed on Government-operated Great Northern routes.
James Wild, the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, said passengers faced a journey of four hours and 20 minutes with three changes and rail replacement services for a route which should take around one hour and 45 minutes by train. He said the continued poor service was causing significant inconvenience to passengers and damaging the economy.
Wild said the situation was particularly serious because Great Northern is now under state control, meaning the Government has direct responsibility for both the track and the trains. He argued that passengers should not be expected to pay full fares when they are given a materially worse service than the one advertised.