Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has criticised Government plans to pump £20m into the privately owned Southern rail network, weeks after he offered to take responsibility for the struggling franchise.

In July, Mr Khan wrote to newly appointed Transport Secretary Chris Grayling asking for permission to appoint a "top Transport for London (TfL) team" to run the franchise following sustained public criticism over its performance.

The letter came after Southern cancelled 341 scheduled services on its network, blaming "unprecedented sickness levels" among its staff and disruption caused by a long-running dispute with the RMT union.

Earlier this week Southern announced it would reinstate some cancelled services from Monday. And today Mr Grayling announced a £20m cash injection of public money into the network in a bid to "to make sure passengers get decent journeys and that problems are dealt with quickly".

Speaking on a visit to Croydon this morning, Mr Khan said it was "disappointing the government have rejected my offer" and described Southern as an "embarrassment to London".

He added: "If TfL are going to [run the network] it in future, why not do it now? The status quo is unacceptable."

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In January TfL announced plans to take control of the capital's entire commuter network, including Southern, by 2021.

Although the franchise does not expire until then, politicians including Croydon South MP Chris Philp has called for parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) to be stripped of it earlier if performance does not improve.

As part of the £20m scheme to help the ailing network Mr Grayling has appointed a team of rail industry experts, led by former Virgin Trains chief operating officer Chris Gibb, to lead the rescue mission.

The money will be spent on improvements such as extra staffing at key stations like East Croydon, and quicker upgrades of worn-out tracks.

Announcing the reinstatement more than 100 cancelled services on Tuesday, GTR chief executive Charles Horton claimed the reintroduction of a full timetable was being hampered by the "cynically orchestrated" actions of the RMT union, which has planned a three-day walkout next week as part of a long-running row over changes to the role of conductors on trains.

But Mr Khan today said it was "not good enough" for the company to blame its staff for poor performance.

Last month, Southern was forced to apologise after a metal panel fell from the ceiling of one its trains near East Croydon, injuring two passengers.

Mr Grayling said: “I want the Southern network to be run by a team of people who work together to make sure passengers get decent journeys and that problems are dealt with quickly.

“This review will suggest how we achieve a joined up approach to running the train and tracks and make things work better for the public.

“We also need to get to grips with things that go wrong on this part of the network."

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