Zac Goldsmith: I'll sort out crowd problems at London Bridge

Pledge: Zac Goldsmith
Rex
Pippa Crerar7 January 2016

Zac Goldsmith today pledged to sort out the chaos at London Bridge “once and for all” on a visit to the station.

There has been disruption at the key interchange as a result of its redevelopment.

The Tory candidate for London Mayor met senior Network Rail executives after signalling problems caused more commuter misery this week.

He has pressed on with Boris Johnson’s campaign for City Hall to get more control over suburban rail services.

“Hundreds of thousands of commuters living in places like Bromley, Croydon, Bexley rely on services to and from London Bridge and when it goes wrong it has a massive impact on their lives,” Mr Goldsmith said.

“That’s why one of my main priorities if elected is to improve suburban rail. I will work with the Government and Network Rail to sort out London Bridge once and for all, to reduce delays and improve the commute for people living on the outskirts of London.”

Network Rail has asked passengers to “be patient”, saying the situation will improve in August when two thirds of the new concourse opens.

Mr Goldsmith stepped up his attack on Labour candidate Sadiq Khan with an analysis of his rival’s policy to freeze fares.

Mr Khan says it will cost £450 million over four years and can be funded by efficiency savings at Transport for London and new revenue streams.

But the Tory analysis claims his plan to stop public funding of the Thames cable car is impossible as the contract will last until 2021, after the new Mayor’s term ends, and he cannot scrap orders for more Routemaster buses after May as none are in place.

Mr Khan also says he will crack down on fare evasion, which cost Londoners £61 million last year, and reduce the number of consultants hired by TfL.

A new YouGov poll for LBC put the Tooting MP ahead of Mr Goldsmith by 55 to 45 per cent. A third of voters were undecided.

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