Around £20m is to be ploughed into the beleaguered Southern rail network in a bid to improve its performance.

One of Britain's most experienced rail chiefs is to be parachuted in to "help get the service back running as it should".

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling today announced the package of measures, and the appointment of Chris Gibb to head a new project board.

It will work with the train operator, the Department for Transport and Network Rail.

The board will oversee the £20m fund and closer working between GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) and Network Rail to improve performance for Southern customers.

The announcement comes just days before a planned two-day strike by unions next week over the changing role of conductors.

The £20m fund will tackle problems on the line - placing more rapid response teams on site, accelerating the replacement of worn track, and hiring extra staff at key stations.

Among the other key changes are:

• £2m to be spent on more rapid response teams to fix faults more quickly, located close to known hotspots
• £2.5m to be spent on accelerated train maintenance
• £0.8m investment in extra signal supervisors to keep trains moving across the network
• £0.9m investment in a series of measures to minimise the impact of bridge strikes.

Transport Secretary Chris 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. That is why we are putting in place a £20m scheme to tackle the cause of breakdowns that too often cause frustrating and damaging delays on the network.

"I now urge the industry, the train operating company and unions to work together to improve services for passengers."

Govia Thameslink Railway CEO Charles Horton welcomed the benefits the package would bring.

He said: "Network Rail and Southern will continue to work closely together to ensure this investment delivers real, tangible benefits for our passengers and the new project board will ensure the programme is effectively delivered."

Chris Gibb said: "I look forward to helping the rail industry improve the passenger experience on the Southern network.

"Committed railway people across the industry work hard round the clock to provide the best possible service to a growing number of passengers, during a time of much needed major investment.

"I will bring together the energy of these people to find ways to improve the delivery of this service in the short and medium term."

Chris Gibb has worked in key leadership roles in rail industry for more than 35 years and is currently a non executive director at Network Rail.

He was previously chief operating officer of Virgin Rail Group, responsible for all aspects of the delivery of Virgin’s operations on the West Coast main line.