At the end of March 2022, the Department for Transport will decide whether to award a six-year contract to private company Govia Ltd to continue running the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern rail services. This is Britain’s biggest rail franchise (known as TSGN), which Govia has run since 2015.

Meanwhile, the companies that own Govia – the Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%) – are under investigation for alleged serious and long-standing fraud on their other neighbouring rail franchise, Southeastern.

The situation on Southeastern became so bad, that the Department for Transport took action to bring the franchise back into public ownership in October 2021.

Yet it is still considering rewarding Govia’s failure and alleged financial malpractice by renewing the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern contract in March.

Pledge now to help us take Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern back into public ownership

We’re working with the Association of British Commuters and their experienced legal team to put pressure on the Department for Transport not to award the contract to Govia.

If Southeastern can be brought back into public ownership, then Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern should be too.

This would provide much better value for money, and be more transparent and accountable to the public. In the long-term, it would also enable us to deliver a re-unified and integrated commuter railway – improving connections with Transport for London and across the SouthEast.

Our Legal Action

In advance of the March 2022 deadline, our lawyers will write to the Department for Transport to demand further information on the Southeastern debacle, to determine the extent to which the Go-Ahead Group and Keolis are implicated in the alleged fraud.

We have serious concerns about the impartiality of the investigations which have been conducted to date, as the Department for Transport allowed these to be carried out by the companies themselves and their auditors Deloitte.

Much of what was discovered remains hidden from public view for ‘commercial confidentiality’ reasons. This is outrageous given that more than £15 billion public money has been spent propping up private rail companies since the start of the pandemic.

Our lawyers will pursue full transparency over the Southeastern investigation, as well as over Govia’s record on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise, which has been dogged by problems since 2015.

They will put forward our argument that Govia, the Go-Ahead Group and Keolis should be heavily penalised for any involvement in fraudulent activities, and demand that public ownership is considered as the most sensible and cost-effective way to continue running rail services on Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern.

In the event that Govia is awarded the contract, our lawyers will consider whether that decision can be challenged by judicial review.

How much we are raising and why?

We’re kickstarting this case with the funds left over from our successful legal action to make the East Coast mainline public in 2018.

If we reach our target of £20,000 this will enable us to maintain consistent pressure on the Department for Transport from now until a decision on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern contract is due in March. 

Any additional funds raised will be kept in reserve, should this case get more complex, or to be used for similar legal action on other rail franchises in the future.

Pledge now to help us take Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern back into public ownership

Southern Rail photograph: galaxytranitUK387 (Flickr)