Rail profiteer Govia was rewarded for failure yesterday when the government handed a no-questions-asked four-year extension to its Southeastern contract.

Trade unions slammed the decision to give the green light to the firm — a lash-up between Go-Ahead and French state-owned Keolis — despite rock-bottom passenger satisfaction and notorious unreliability.

Even Transport Minister Claire Perry admitted that the “passengers on this route haven’t always received the service that they deserve.”