Sadiq Khan has been rejected by Labour for his bid to take control of commuter rail routes outside London.
In its manifesto, published on Thursday by Sir Keir’s opposition, the opposition ruled out further expansion of Transport for London. TfL is under Mr Khan’s responsibility.
The mayor of London, recently elected to his third term had campaigned for TfL to expand its operations up until Sevenoaks, Kent, and Stevenage, Hertfordshire. He said this would allow more frequent services, better reliability, and simpler fares.
Labour has confirmed that it rejected Mr Khan’s plan as part of the announcement in its manifesto, which stated that mayors would be limited to “services within their area”.
The Opposition instead has outlined plans to bring a majority of UK rail routes under state control including routes outside London, which Mr Khan had targeted.
The manifesto confirms plans made by the shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh, in March, for the creation of Great British Railways. This would be an independent body with overall responsibility for service.
Labour claims that nationalisation will not lower fares, but it should simplify them. It also provide passengers with “the best price guarantee.”
A spokesperson for Mr Khan stated that the mayor would “work closely with the Labour government to provide a system which provides the service passengers are entitled to”.
The spokesman said: “The existing commuter railway lines in London clearly are not fit for purpose. There are cancellations, delays, and poor reliability.”
This comes after Mr Khan hoped to run the trains that are currently operated by Southeastern, Great Northern and which connect towns in the commuter belt with stations in central London.
His proposals were a diluted version a plan that Boris Johnson had proposed during his tenure as mayor. He wanted to extend TfL’s network throughout the home counties.
Labour’s GBR will not interfere with Mr Khan’s TfL operation, which includes the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway. It also includes London Overground, Elizabeth Line, London Overground, and London Overground.
Trains run to Watford and Reading on the latter two networks.
Sources close to the matter said that TfL, the Mayor’s Office and other parties would continue to push a Labour-led government to allow more routes to be run. This is especially true for those within Greater London.
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