Madeleine Moon MP raised concerns with the government over First Great Western’s punctuality and reliability – “not words that my constituents in Bridgend use in relation” to the company she said to the parliamentary under secretary of state for transport, Tom Harris in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Mr. Harris said that “I have raised First Great Western’s performance with the company on several occasions… [and] I assure her that … the Secretary of State and I will continue to apply any pressure necessary to bring about the improvements in performance that we wish to see.”

The Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander also offered his assurances saying “I have been in regular dialogue with First Great Western in recent months, and that I have impressed on the company that the standards of service that it has provided …have fallen below what passengers and the rest of us have the right to expect.”

Later in the day Madeleine met with First Great Western who acknowledged her complaints, accepting that the service delays, cancellations and timetable weaknesses we “not acceptable.”

First Great Western claimed however that they were “well on the way to resolving them by introducing extra trains, extra capacity, more staff, more senior management, timetabling improvements, more catering, new engineering procedures and standby rolling stock and train crew.”