"While the Mayor has frozen TfL fares across London’s transport network, the Government has allowed private train companies to increase rail fares by an average of 2.3 per cent this year. If TfL assumes responsibility for suburban rail services, fares on these services would also be covered by TfL’s fares freeze," Khan's press service said in a statement.
The mayor also pledged to increase the number of trains, reduce delays, improve station safety and reduce service disruption after city authorities take over railways leading into the UK capital. Khan slammed current private operators, especially the worst performing Govia Thameslink, for offering abysmal services to commuters.
TfL, the government body responsible for running London's enormous transport network, pledged to take over suburban rail routes as far back as early 2016 in response to ever rising fares and commuter dissatisfaction with the quality of services. The takeover is planned to take place as various routes' franchises are due for renewal, with South West Trains due to be the first in 2017. The Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern services will all come up for renewal by 2021.
As yet another rise in fares sparked commuter protests, a YouGov poll revealed that as many as 58 percent of commuters supported increasing TfL control over suburban services, with just 14 percent opposed to the move. The figures came after Transport Secretary Chris Grayling blocked Khan's request to transfer the Southeastern railway from a private operator and into the hands of city authorities.
British railways, controlled by the government since their nationalization in 1948, were privatized between 1994 and 1997. The privatization has been widely criticized due to causing high fares and poor services but has so far not been reversed by any government.
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