It has been announced today that Southern have won the franchise for running services on our line beyond September this year. Not really a surprise given that any other operator would only have 3 months to take control of a vast network.
They did not deserve to win the franchise, after making a mess of our evening timetable (with random gaps between trains) and failing to listen to customers regarding gating policies. Fortunately they will not be responsible for staffing the station or gating policy from September.
They have promised longer trains and slightly later services on Friday and Saturday nights, but not as long or as late as passengers would want. It will be interesting to see what happens about lengthening our platforms for longer Southern Trains, when the stations are operated by TfL. The rail industry is not good at joined up thinking.