I welcome the demise of the First Capital Connect Thameslink franchise with the news that the contract has now been awarded to Govia. FCC could not run the railway. It was the most unpopular line in the country last year, which was no surprise to users of the line.

I am seeking an early meeting with the new managers from Govia, who now have the contract from the autumn. In particular, I will be seeking assurances that commuter services from Mill Hill and Hendon will be improved and not play second fiddle to the faster lines from Bedford. I will want to know what they intend to do to improve reliability and punctuality, and reduce overcrowding. I will also be raising the need for step free access at Mill Hill, which was not included in the recent announcement of the Conservative Government’s future step-free programme.

However, with the inclusion next year of the South Central franchise, I believe it is going to be a tall order for them to deliver all the improvements our commuters rightly expect to see. This franchise is going to be too big and too complex to work.

This represents a missed opportunity. I believe commuters would have got a far better deal if the franchise had gone to Transport for London’s Overground network. I rarely agree with Boris Johnson, but we both believe Thameslink should be part of TfL. They have dramatically turned round London Overground, which is now the most popular line in the country. The fact that they were not allowed to bid to run the line is a disgrace. They should have had the same opportunity as the private sector to compete for the franchise on equal terms.

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly member and parliamentary candidate for Hendon