Labour will not allow Sadiq Khan to take over south east London’s rail service if it wins the general election, despite the mayor recently talking up the possibility, it has been reported.
Khan said in April that he would work with a future Labour government to “end the misery of failing outer London suburban rail services” if he was elected – singling out Southeastern Metro services to Dartford, Hayes and Sevenoaks for takeover by Transport for London, as well as Great Northern services from Moorgate.
But the Financial Times reported last week that the shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has ruled out the idea.
Labour officials told the FT that it had no plans to proceed with Khan’s proposal, and that the lines would be renationalised and run by the new Great British Railways instead.
All three London mayors – Khan, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone – have sought control of London’s suburban services. Livingstone launched London Overground in 2007, initially by taking over neglected routes in north London.
But despite some expansion under Johnson – and the Elizabeth Line taking over west and east London routes – Conservative governments at Westminster have blocked TfL taking over other routes, a policy that the FT indicates Labour is likely to continue.
“Under Labour’s plans for publicly owned passenger rail, as franchises expire, they [the suburban services] would come under Great British Railways’ control,” Labour told the paper.
Last year a petition started by The Greenwich Wire calling for the services to be taken over by TfL was signed by 5,900 people.
Southeastern is already run by a state-owned company, with its previous owner Govia sacked in 2021 over financial irregularities.
The Tory transport minister Huw Merriman oversaw cuts to SE London services 18 months ago, axing the popular “rounder” services that linked Sidcup to the Elizabeth Line at Abbey Wood and leaving Greenwich line passengers with waits of more than 20 minutes for trains.
Merriman stood down from parliament last week and will not be seeking re-election in his seat of Bexhill & Battle, which was largely unscathed by the cuts at the company.
A new Southeastern Metro timetable was introduced on Sunday, with better-spaced trains aimed at eradicating the worst of the long waits on routes to Dartford. More peak hour trains will be introduced in December, including the reintroduction of some “rounder” services.
Services are also being altered until August because of the closure of the 175-year-old rail tunnel between Blackheath and Charlton, while weekend services to the coast have been introduced for the summer.