Caroline Lucas has written again to the Department of Transport after receiving an inadequate response on First Capital Connect from the Minister responsible for rail, Chris Mole.

The letter received from Labour MP Chris Mole states that "FCC has been fulfilling its obligations under the Franchise agreement, operating amended timetables in agreement with the Department", while at the same time admitting the service has been "unacceptable in terms of cancellations, punctuality and passenger service information".

Caroline Lucas, MEP for the South East including Brighton, said:

"I am extremely disappointed with the reply I have received. Chris Mole accepts that the service is unacceptable, but is still refusing to take serious action. He says his department will continue to "closely monitor" FCC's performance, and assures us he is expecting a "radical improvement". My question is how long are the people who use this line going to have to wait?"

Caroline, who hopes to become MP for Brighton Pavilion, continued:

"I have called repeatedly for First Capital Connect to be stripped of their franchise, due to the shockingly poor service they have provided."

"The letter from the Department of Transport says FCC has recruited new drivers, as is re-training existing drivers, in order to 'lessen the reliance on overtime and rest day working'. However, it does not tell us how long this will take, how many more drivers have been recruited, or if there will be any further disruption to passengers. I know first hand that the service remains overcrowded and unreliable, due to poor management."

Councillor Ian Davey, who is the Green Party Transport spokesperson on Brighton and Hove City Council, said:

"I was surprised to read in the Argus that Labour candidate Nancy Platts had written in saying the same thing, as it is clear from the letter received that this Labour Government has no intention of re-nationalising FCC. It is the Green Party who have always argued for the nationalisation of public services."

"Passengers pay enough in rail fares that they should not be faced with this kind of service - it is simply not good enough."

"The time for procrastination has passed. It is time that the Labour government took much needed action and brought this train service back into public ownership as they have done elsewhere. Only by doing so can we hope to a public transport system that runs in the public interest."

For more information please contact the Brighton and Hove Green Party on 01273 766 670