Southern rail commuters have launched a legal claim in an attempt to force the government to take action over the failing train service.

An application for a judicial review of the Department for Transport’s handling of the crisis was filed on Wednesday by lawyers for the Association of British Commuters.



A spokeswoman for the group said: “Our final grounds, submitted to court today, are the result of five months’ hard work, and the extensive research of dozens of volunteers; who have supported our campaign by contributing their time and professional skills. Our donors, volunteers and supporters are the people who have been hit the hardest by the Southern rail crisis, and they deserve to play a part in finally bringing the government to account.”

The initial legal costs of £26,000 have been crowdfunded by passengers, who have suffered widespread cancellations and delays on Southern since it became part of Govia Thameslink Railway’s operation in 2015.

The commuters are seeking a ruling on whether the DfT has failed to hold GTR to account for the long-term breakdown of Southern’s service, and whether the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has indirectly discriminated against disabled passengers.

Judges will be asked to consider a claim on four grounds. The first argues that the DfT has not properly enforced the management contract, with GTR having clearly breached performance benchmarks. The firm has claimed “force majeure”, arguing that high rates of sickness and industrial action constituted factors outside its control, but the DfT has delayed its response for months.

Three other grounds relate to the effects of Southern’s service on disabled passengers, who have been unable to board crowded trains or travel without booking ahead in many cases. The claim argues this breaches the Equality Act, and that Grayling has committed further breaches by failing to act.

The commuter group hit out at the DfT for its “resistance to transparency”, which it said meant it was impossible for them to clarify the true causes of the crisis. Emily Yates, a founder of the group, said: “There has long ceased to be any justification for the transport secretary’s hands-off approach to a company that is his department’s direct contractor.”

She added: “We began this process back in September, at a time when we felt we’d already reached our last resort. That it has got so much worse, and the DfT have still not acted, now staggers belief. Commuters have long since passed the point of exhaustion, and it is a matter of shame on the department that we have had to go to such great lengths to ask them to finally take action on this failed company.”

The court must make an initial decision on whether the case will proceed. The commuters will launch a further crowdfunding campaign if it can pursue its legal challenge.

The Campaign for Better Transport said it was a “step forward for passenger power”. Spokeswoman Lianna Etkind said: “It’s absolutely right that the government is held to account for the failings of the Southern franchise, which has made people’s lives a misery. Fundamentally, the running of a train service is down to the contract between government and train operator, so the government’s role in setting and enforcing the standards in the contract with Govia must be properly scrutinised.”

She said passengers’ voices had been ignored in the tussle between Southern and the unions and that passenger representation should be written into future franchises.

Faryal Velmi, the director of Transport for All, said Southern had been “allowed to treat disabled passengers as second-class citizens”. She said: “Transport for All has heard time and again from disabled transport users who feel Southern rail’s network is now a no-go zone; impacting on people’s ability to work and often leaving them increasingly isolated. The Department for Transport and rail industry must act urgently to prevent the basic rights of disabled passengers being flouted in this way.”

Talks are continuing this week between GTR and Aslef, the train drivers’ union, to resolve the dispute that has intensified problems on Southern. A six-day strike in late January was suspended but little progress is understood to have been made in the row over the changing roles and responsibilities of drivers and on-board crew.

A DfT spokesman declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. A GTR spokeswoman said: “The subject of a judicial review is a matter for the Department for Transport.”