The government plans to inject £20m into the Southern network in a bid to turnaround the service’s performance and tackle commuter chaos on its lines.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling today appointed one of the rail industry’s most experienced figures to a team of experts that investigate delays and cancellations.

It will have £20m to spend on improvements such as extra staffing at key stations like East Croydon, and quicker upgrades of worn-out tracks.

Mr Grayling said: “I want the Southern network to be run by a team of people who work together to make sure passengers get decent journeys and that problems are dealt with quickly.

“This review will suggest how we achieve a joined up approach to running the train and tracks and make things work better for the public.

“We also need to get to grips with things that go wrong on this part of the network.

“That is why we are putting in place a £20 million scheme to tackle the cause of breakdowns that too often cause frustrating and damaging delays on the network.

“I now urge the industry, the train operating company and unions to work together to improve services for passengers.”

Chris Gibb, the former chief operating officer at Virgin Trains, will head a new project board, working with the train operator, the Department for Transport and Network Rail, to explore how to achieve a rapid improvement to services.

Mr Gibb said: “I look forward to helping the rail industry improve the passenger experience on the Southern network.

“Committed railway people across the industry work hard round the clock to provide the best possible service to a growing number of passengers, during a time of much needed major investment.

“I will bring together the energy of these people to find ways to improve the delivery of this service in the short and medium term.”

The cash injection will include:

  • £2 million to be spent on more rapid response teams to fix faults more quickly, located close to known hotspots
  • £2.5 million to be spent on accelerated train maintenance
  • £0.8 million investment in extra signal supervisors to keep trains moving across the network
  • £0.9 million investment in a series of measures to minimise the impact of bridge strikes

Govia Thameslink Railway CEO Charles Horton said: “We welcome the benefits this £20 million improvement package will bring for passengers, tackling some of the key infrastructure challenges on the network.

“Network Rail and Southern will continue to work closely together to ensure this investment delivers real, tangible benefits for our passengers and the new project board will ensure the programme is effectively delivered.

“This investment complements our existing programme of improvements which is bringing in new trains and changing working practices to improve customer service.”