Campaign for Better Transport responds to the appointment of new government rail minister

Paul Maynard MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport

Campaign for Better Transport has commented on the appointment of Paul Maynard MP as the new government rail minister.

Campaign for Better Transport has urged the new government rail minister Paul Maynard MP to make fixing the ongoing problems at Southern Rail and rolling out part-time season tickets his first priorities.

Mr Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport on 17 July 2016 and takes over former rail minister Claire Perry.

James MacColl, Head of Campaigns at Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We’d like to welcome Mr Maynard to what is bound to be a difficult job. Top of his in-tray is sorting out the ongoing problems at Southern, which his predecessor said ‘feels like a failure’. It is time for someone to get a grip of the situation. Passengers who rely on the beleaguered Southern services need urgent action from government to get the franchise back on track and restore levels of service.

“Nationally, action to roll out part-time season ticketing has been on the Government’s agenda for several years with seemingly little progress and we hope now with a change of personnel comes a renewed effort to get flexible ticketing for part-time workers off the ground.”