Henry Smith, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Crawley, yesterday met with the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, as part of his continued representations on behalf of local commuters.

Henry said;

“Southern Railway is an issue I’ve continued to pursue with the Transport Secretary and so was pleased he came to Three Bridges Station to discuss the issue further.

“The Conservative Government have confirmed £300 million to go on engineering upgrades and fixes for Southern and Thameslink on the London to Brighton Mainline. Network Rail will target locations where the most significant delays originate and cause recurring problems for passengers.

“Last year I secured a House of Commons debate on local rail services. This was meant to be a cross-party effort however, no Labour MPs chose to take part.

“A month later Crawley Labour councillors opposed a motion which called on the RMT union to end their strikes affecting Southern services. I’ve continually called for the rail operator and the unions to work together on this issue. In contrast it was disappointing to see Crawley Labour councillors putting politics before people.

"The strikes were an anti-modernisation action, unacceptable as no jobs cuts were being threatened and indeed even a pay increase was on offer."

The Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Chris Grayling, commented;

“I was pleased to meet with Henry Smith at Three Bridges Station. Since my appointment as Transport Secretary last year Henry has been a constant and effective champion for Crawley passengers. I’ve seen first hand how strongly he stands up for this community in Parliament.

“I know that Henry will continue to be a strong advocate for the people of Crawley if he is re-elected at the general election on 8th June.”