London commuter trains could be cancelled for cargo in no deal Brexit, operator warns

Go-Ahead's chief executive also warned that bus driver applications had dropped since the referendum

The jam-packed commuter trains taking passengers into London may be cancelled to make room for emergency freight trains to run instead, in the event of a no deal Brexit. That is according to David Brown, chief executive of Go-Ahead, the operator that runs Southeastern services between Dover, Kent and the capital. Among their routes are high-speed trains from the Channel Tunnel, which has been one of the most pivotal areas in Brexit negotiations. Brown has warned that difficulties in moving goods out from Dover to the rest of the country could see timetable space for commuter trains commandeered for cargo, with the company in talks with the government to prevent this from happening. “There maybe issues over freight stacking," he told the Guardian. "We don’t really know what’s going to happen. "The paths they might want could affect passenger services. It’s hypothetical at the moment but we are working with government and freight operators to make sure it doesn’t affect commuters.” Go-Ahead is also the largest operator of London bus routes and owns parts of the Manchester network, and Brown has noted that the Brexit referendum set in motion a potential shortage of drivers with job applications from countries in the European Union sharply declining. “The thing that causes me most concern is our [EU] employees," he added. "We need them to run the services in the UK. "You could envisage [a shortage] being a problem in the future." The Department for Transport has stated that it is continuing to work hard on "exploring all options" to "alleviate" such issues with the Brexit deadline now just over a month away and EU leaders accepting that no deal is becoming an increasingly likely proposition.