Govia Thameslink Railway CEO resigns following travel chaos

Transport firm Go-Ahead Group plc has announced the resignation of the CEO of its Govia Thameslink Railway business.

Chief exec Charles Horton tendered his resignation in the wake of widespread disruption to the company’s services in and out of the capital.

Problems followed the introduction of new timetables.

Mr Horton will remain in his post for a short period to oversee the development of a temporary timetable, Go-Ahead said.

A successor will be announced in due course.

David Brown, group chief executive of Go-Ahead, said: “I would like to thank Charles for his hard work with Govia for the past 15 years.

“Under often challenging conditions, he has built a team to deliver the largest railway change programme for decades, on a franchise that is not only the UK’s biggest, but which has also has seen the highest passenger growth.”

He added: “We are committed to working with the Department for Transport and Network Rail to address recent problems and to deliver a reliable, punctual service for passengers.”

Commenting on the decision, Mr Horton said: “I recognise that passengers have been hugely frustrated at the significant disruption caused by the introduction of new timetables.

“It is the right time to hand leadership of GTR to a new pair of hands.”

He continued: “I am immensely proud of my team and I would like to thank my 7,000 colleagues at GTR for all their hard work over the past four years.”

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