Vince Cable

The boss of SW Trains, Andrew Haines, has written to MP Vincent Cable to explain that its bid for a 20 year franchise has failed and it will be given only a year's extension through 2003 with a possible extra three years.

He explains that while new rolling stock will be introduced over the coming year there will be some delay in other investments including more frequent services on the Windsor line and the loop to Kingston.

Vincent Cable said: "SW Trains has been a major disappointment and is being punished by being denied a long franchise."

"But it is becoming increasingly clear that the government has quietly renationalised the industry and that all major decisions in future will be determined by the government's National Rail Authority (NRA) rather than the private rail companies."

"I shall be making a submission to the NRA on behalf of local commuters and stress that what most residents are looking for is not spectacular new projects but greater reliability and punctuality and more frequent services on the branch lines."

"In the long term we should be thinking about linking Twickenham, Teddington and Kingston to the underground but the more urgent priority is giving commuters better value for money on their existing services."

"This means - for example - putting money into restoring electrical systems and power supplies to more reliable levels."