Grayling fends off London Mayor's claim that capacity can increase on commuter routes

The transport secretary Chris Grayling today took to the airwaves to deride a claim from the London Mayor that under Transport for London's control capacity would be increased on commuter routes in South East England.

The Mayor Sadiq Khan used social media to encourage commuters affected by on-going strike action on Southern Rail services to urge them to back his campaign to take control of Southern, Southeastern and South West train lines. "You'd get a more frequent, reliable service with fewer strikes, and fares would be more affordable," he said, saying a strike planned on the London Underground was called off after TfL engaged with the unions.

Grayling responding on LBC Radio, said Khan's claims were "simply nonsense". He said: "The Mayor's just said 'we'll provide more frequent services'. Well the reality is if you get a suburban train in the morning, you know that these tracks are jammed full. The challenge is getting any space for any more trains. He also promised people outside London that he won't actually introduce more trains because of the fears outside London that actually there might be fewer services from the coast for example."

The secretary of state said he was focusing on getting a resolution to the industrial action and added that Khan had also made "grand promises about things like bridges he hasn't got the money to build... people should take what the Mayor says with a pinch of salt".