A press release from a government department issued on a Friday before a Bank Holiday weekend could cynically be accused of attempting to bury bad news … but the announcement by the Department for Transport to award the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise to train operator Govia will I hope be anything but bad news.

For far too long the First Capital Connect trains on the Hertford Loop (click map for info) from Bowes Park have been unreliable, delayed and overcrowded.

I for one will not miss squeezing myself into a delayed three-car train, made up of forty year old rolling stock as I travel (more in hope than expectation) towards Finsbury Park or Moorgate.

The franchise which takes effect from September is, at seven years, one of the longest awarded. In return GoVia promise, amongst other things, to operate services to and from Moorgate later into the evenings and at weekends; a new fleet of 150 air-conditioned metro carriages for Moorgate during 2018, and, at a time when London Underground Stations are closing ticket offices, the new franchisee promises that staffing hours will be increased, with the busiest stations staffed from first to last train. Further investment is promised to improve platform access and provide information screens at stations.

Within the lifetime of the franchise there are plans to run trains across London North to South: New tunnels will link Peterborough and Cambridge to the existing Thameslink route providing through trains stopping at Finsbury Park via St Pancras to Gatwick and Brighton.

So it seems like good news – yet to be fair some of the problems that affect the Bowes Park line are not down to the train operator – the signalling failure that delayed passengers this week was the fault of the infrastructure provider Network Rail.

However overall this does feel like a positive step – we are lucky to be so well connected to excellent public transport networks … but these networks are only of use when you can be sure the train is running; actually get onto a train when it arrives and reliably expect it to get you to your destination.

More information:

• Department of Transport
• Train operator GoVia
• First Capital Connect