Train fares will not increase this year, Govia says

As Govia Thameslink Railway prepares for renationalisation on 31 May, the company's chief customer officer shared his vision for the future with BBC Radio Sussex.

Louis Rambaud has worked in countries including his native France, as well as Germany, the Netherlands and now the UK.

He talked about what renationalisation meant for the company and commuters, as well as its current services including ticket prices, customer satisfaction and relationship with employees.

The future was bright for commuters, he said, but people who talked to BBC Sussex about their experience on services, said more could be done.

Read our takeaways from the Hotseat interview below.

Starting 1 June, the government will be Govia's new shareholder, but Rambaud said there would be no immediate changes for customers.

"We will gradually integrate the industry, which means we can have shared best practices and goals," he said.

"Our vision is being one public company, but with the spirit of innovation and the local entrepreneurial mindset."

As Gatwick Airport is expanding, Govia is looking to increase services to meet the greater demand.

He said: "We aim to have more services between Gatwick and London, quicker and more frequently."

He said this included having four trains per hour between the destinations, rather than just two.

Rambaud added one of the other ambitions of renationalisation was to make the delay and repay process "easier".

Rambaud said there would be no job losses under the renationalisation plans.

He said the there has been no industrial strikes for two years now, and relationships with staff members "have improved".

Rambaud added in the past year, Govia has been recruiting more drivers.

"Recently, we employed 130 more drivers to help improve reliability of services," he said.

He added 6% of the company's workers are under 25, and Govia is launching a programme to recruit more young people.

"There are opportunities in frontlines, marketing, finance, management and engineering," he said.

Govia operates Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express, with up to one million passenger journeys are made every day.

Rambaud said to assist customers, the fares will not increase this year where possible.

To get the best prices, he recommended commuters to book tickets in advance.

"More people are using our app for travelling and there's less reliance on paper tickets," he added.

According to the Office of Road and Rail, one in 10 disabled passengers booked for assistance but did not receive it.

"This statistic is really bad," Rambaud said. "We want to support everyone. We have seen an increase of 25% of passengers requesting our accessibility support."

Rambaud also said the company is open to discussions about reinstating some older routes for Sussex.

"We need to make sure we have evidence to support demand," he said.

He added Govia has improved facilities inside trains, including installing USB plugs, powerpoints and setting up better Wi-Fi connections.

Jacqueline McCabe, who uses the Southern services, says the services have "generally improved" in the last few years.

"The ticket prices are reasonable, if you book them in advance, but not so if you purchase them on the day," she added.

"I support the renationalisation plan, I hope they run it for the benefit of the customers."

Derrick Coffee, who also uses Southern services, said while trains were "regular most of the time", services did not cater for those who could not buy tickets in advance.

"Fares are reasonable if you book ahead, but if you need to travel immediately the prices are expensive," he said.

"I think there should be more flexibility."

Coffee also supported renationalisation, but believed Govia should consider reopening certain lines, including the Lewes and Uckfield line, to improve connection between communities.

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