My go-to answer is always the same: that Beckenham and Penge has both more train stations than any constituency in England and the second highest percentage of rail commuters.
We are a constituency of commuters in Beckenham and Penge.
I was therefore delighted when, at the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that rail fares will be frozen for commuters in Beckenham and Penge for 2026/2027.
This is the first rail fares freeze in 30 years and will save thousands of residents hundreds of pounds.
This fare freeze is just one part of Labour’s wider plans to build a new railway, owned by you and in the service of passengers.
This new approach will put an end to the Tory legacy of 14 years of chaos on our railway, during which rail fares rose by 60% and private train companies boasted of “free money”.
Last year, I voted to begin the process of bringing train operators across the country into public ownership, eventually saving passengers and the taxpayer £150 million in management fees paid to these private companies.
Now, we are setting up a new publicly owned company called “Great British Railways” (GBR), that will run and manage the tracks and trains we use every day.
GBR will tackle the fragmented, inefficient system that we inherited.
For years, Network Rail and Train Operating Companies, like Southeastern, have each employed hundreds of full-time staff on the taxpayer dime to play a “blame-game” and argue over who should be on the hook to cover the cost of delays.
GBR will put an end to wasteful farces like this by bringing 17 different organisations under one roof, ending years of fragmentation, driving up standards for passengers, and making journeys easier and better value for money.
Along with this, a new Great British Railways app and website will put tickets to Britain’s reformed railway in the palm of passengers’ hands.
Passengers will be able to book directly, without booking fees, and will be able to use the app to organise passenger assistance if they require support.
Accessible transport is about freedom, dignity, and ensuring everyone can participate fully in daily life.
This is something I have campaigned on before, including at Shortlands Station, and I will campaign to ensure that GBR provides a better experience for disabled passengers.
I know how important the railways are to those in our constituency.
Primarily, they are how people get to work, but they are also how people access the small but important things such as hospital appointments, seeing friends, the football and much more.
This Government aims to create a railway that can facilitate all these journeys, with a positive passenger experience, at a fair cost.
If you have any feedback or requests for the trains in our local area, please do get in touch.
