First Group moves closer to losing Thameslink

Rail and coach giant First Group today came closer to losing its Thameslink franchise as tens of thousands of commuters again suffered major disruption.

First Capital Connect (FCC) the subsidiary company which runs Thameslink confirmed numerous trains running late on the through-London Bedford to Brighton line via Gatwick Airport.

Others were of short-formation - four carriages instead of the advertised eight - others didn't stop at all scheduled stations or stopped short of original destinatiion.

The FCC website today gave details of 38 trains affected.

Commuters face further major disruption and overcrowding getting home this evening.

Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, has repeatedly warned FCC must improve the service.

He has said he will consider "all options" open to him - a clear indication that First Group could be stripped of the franchise used by 200,000 passengers a day.

Commuters have complained in droves, a petition containing hundreds oif signatures demanding the company be stripped of the franchise has been collected and a spoof FCC website set up mocking the operator.

Rail chiefs are now expected to be called-in for a final dressing down in a desperate last ditch attempt to get them to improve the service.

Bob Crow, leader of the RMT rail union, said: "Lord Adonis gave FCC a deadline today to shape up or ship out and they have blown it.

"It's time to clear the First Group rip-off merchants off the tracks and get a properly resourced and staffed service in place under public ownership."

Commuters have suffered more than two months of cancellations and delays.

Train drivers refused to work overtime in the pay protest and the service virtually collapsed. That dispute has now been settled.

At times only around half the scheduled timetable has run.

The fiasco has prompted a growing backlash from politicians, commuters and union bosses with demands for FirstGroup - which saw pre-tax profits rise by 31 per cent to £326.4 million in the year of last March - be stripped of its Thameslink contract.

Val Shawcross, Labour London Assembly members for Lambeth and Southwark, has demanded a meeting with FCC bosses after being "besieged with complaints from commuters during the recent severe disruptions". She is also raising the issue with Lord Adonis.

Ms Shawcross said: "I've received a number of complaints from passengers, particularly from the Streatham area, where reliance on the loop' service - which has suffered worst - is high.

"I find it ludicrous that train operators can apply to run a service when they are depending on staff working overtime to deliver a proper timetable."