Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois has today formally written to Jamie Burles, the Managing Director of Abellio Greater Anglia, requesting that they give a discount to season ticket holders when they renew next year because of persistently poor performance by the rail company during 2017.
Mark has been in extended correspondence with the company, who in a national survey last month were recorded as generating on of the highest levels of complaints from passengers for any rail company in the Country.
Mark met with officials from Greater Anglia several weeks ago and at the meeting challenged them to provide a discount in compensation for the poor service that his constituents had received. There is a precedent as South Western trains gave their commuters the equivalent of 10 days free travel following a period of closure at Waterloo Station.
Today Mark followed up on his meeting with the company by writing to the Managing Director to reiterate his request for a discount.
Commenting on his initiative, Mark said:
“My constituents pay several thousand pounds a year to travel into London on Abellio Greater Anglia and there have been so many engineering works, delays and cancellations this year that they are simply not getting value for money. The company are developing a poor reputation among Essex commuters and as a way of trying to alleviate this I have suggested that they should give those commuters a discount, to show that they have some appreciation of what their passengers have put up with. I very much hope that the company will take this on board, in time for people to renew their season tickets in January 2018.