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Can Govia get Thameslink service back on track?

Regular commuters on the Thameslink line have faced frustrating delays and cancellations since Govia took over the running of the line from First Capital Connect on September 14th.

Govia has released its performance figures and they bear out the public perception that the service has got worse: the Thameslink Public Performance Measure (PPM) for Period 7 (the period since Govia took over) was just 81.10% against a target of 87.36%. Commuters who berated First Capital Connect might like to know that in the same period in both the last two years, the PPM exceeded 90%. PPM is the industry standard performance measure and refers to the percentage of services that reach their final destination on time.

Thameslink Performance

The blue bars show this year’s performance against target (orange)

In the train operator’s latest stakeholder newsletter, CEO Charles Horton apologises and admits that his company was to blame for some of the shaky service. “Some of this disruption has been caused by external events which are very difficult for us to control, such as several fatalities. But there have also been delays caused by things which we in the rail industry manage.”

How is Govia planning to address these issues and get the service back on track (and disgruntled West Hampstead commuters to work  on time)?

Horton adds that a summit was held last week with the management team to discuss recent poor performance and put in place a plan “to improve performance urgently”. You can see the whole of the chief executive’s letter below.

Will this be enough to convince regular users of the service? One local rush-hour commuter said that although he accepted “occasional delays are inevitable,” there had “hardly been an incident-free day since Govia took over” – citing problems such as overcrowding on four-carriage trains, more frequent delays, and the odd cancellation due to “staff shortages”. Looks like Govia has some work to do to win over increasingly frustrated passengers.

In touch CEO letter 2014

First Capital Connect loses Thameslink franchise

Amid all the election results flooding in from around the country, another bit of news could affect West Hampstead commuters at least as much.

First Capital Connect, owned by the First Group, has lost the Thameslink franchise to Govia, a joint venture between Go Ahead Group and Keolis. The new operator, which currently operates Southern trains, will take over both the Brighton to Bedford route from mid-September as well as the Great Northern route that First Capital Connect also operates. The new enlarged franchise – catchily titled Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) – is the UK’s largest in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue, and staff according to the BBC.

First Capital Connect was voted the worst train operating company by customers earlier this year, and First Group’s share price had already fallen in expectation of this franchise loss. The group still operates First Great Western – which has been badly affected this year by the flooding in the south-west – and First TransPenine Express.

The Thameslink route is, as you know, undergoing a major upgrade with new trains and a complete overhaul of London Bridge station. Assuming all goes to plan, Govia should benefit from this better service and will no doubt hope to see a leap up the customer satisfacton rankings.