This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The man who oversees London’s tube and bus network has described national rail services running into the capital as “shit, awful” and “like the wild west”.



Sir Peter Hendy, the commissioner of Transport for London, said commuters hated their suburban rail services, and singled out Southeastern – one of the busiest rail franchises, carrying more than 600,000 passengers every weekday – for particular criticism.

Then people who look like the Gestapo get on and fine everyone they can. It doesn’t improve your day, does it? Sir Peter Hendy

He also accused the train operators of putting “Gestapo-like” inspectors on trains to fine as many people as possible, including customers who had simply made mistakes with their tickets.

In an interview with Management Today, Hendy said: “People hate the suburban rail service, they hate it. If you make a mistake on your oyster card on the tube, we’ll refund it. On South West Trains, they’ll fine you. That’s a big philosophical difference.”

He continued: “On Southeastern, the trains are like the wild west. They are shit, awful. And then every now and then some people who look like the Gestapo get on and fine everyone they can. It doesn’t improve your day, does it?”

Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) Azeem Nini, 25, says trains into London are 'really bad' from poor conditions of seats to long delays. pic.twitter.com/eidYCY3ESh

Southeastern has consistently scored lowest on national passenger-satisfaction surveys, and the number of commuters who would agree with the colourfully expressed sentiment has likely increased recently after widespread disruption largely caused by engineering works at London Bridge, where the station and track is being reconstructed.

Hendy implied that Mark Carne, the chief executive of Network Rail, risked failing in his job because of the disruption.

“The chief exec is a nice bloke and he has this idea about the digital railway and getting the most out of the railway in the next 30 years – but no one is listening because they can’t fix London Bridge.”

Transport for London runs London’s bus and underground network, as well as some suburban rail services under the London Overground banner. Hendy and the mayor, Boris Johnson, have ambitions to run more of the national rail services into the capital.



At the end of May, TfL takes over the suburban services of the Greater Anglia rail franchise, and is seeking to run more of the capital’s southern rail lines, building on the success of London Overground.

However, TfL has suffered problems of its own in recent days, and there were severe delays on some tube lines again on Thursday morning. Unions said it was a “gross insult and dereliction of duty” that Johnson, who has overall responsibility for transport in London, had been away during the chaos, “feathering his own nest and promoting his own political career”.

TfL also faces an uphill task to improve the quality of services currently run by Abellio Greater Anglia, inheriting old, unreliable trains and crumbling stations.



Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) Anna Jefferson, 36, who lives in Brighton, says quality of service is "entirely dependent" on time of travel. pic.twitter.com/3XV5P5uGmH

A Southeastern spokesman said: “We are really proud of our frontline teams and the work they do every day, helping hundreds of thousands of passengers. It is disappointing that Peter Hendy’s comments do not reflect their dedication and hard work.”



Commuters at London Bridge station on Thursday agreed with Hendy. Dan Bissett, 44, a systems architect who commutes daily to and from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: “I catch a train from Tunbridge Wells to Cannon Street but the service isn’t as frequent so I end up travelling to London Bridge which adds 30 minutes to my journey.

“They’ve known about the changes around London Bridge and Blackfriars for years but have done nothing to improve the frequency or capacity. They’re constantly delayed. Some trains have eight carriages, some only have four.”



Emily Palmer, 28, an account manager who also lives in Tunbridge Wells, said: “It’s unfair to say they’re shit but there’s a lot more they could do. For me, it’s the heating. It’s the wrong way round. It’s boiling in the winter and freezing in the summer.”

Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) Three words to sum up train service into London from Sean Dennis, 48, of Uckfield: 'Can be awful'. https://t.co/btjfFfegGP

Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) Three words to sum up train service into London from Julia Dixon, 24, from Stoke Newington: "Stressful so f... https://t.co/lNxTcTua6h

Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) Three words to sum up train service into London from Alexandria Boaten, 25, from Thamesmead: "Waste of money." https://t.co/l7HGaKFGCz

• This article was amended on 23 April 2015 to clarify Hendy’s statement on Network Rail.