Action needed to tackle overcrowded trains and soaring fares

Deborah Dunleavy, prospective Conservative MP for Bolton North East), today added her backing to new Conservative plans to make rail services across the north and Britain better. The proposals include giving Bolton Council the power to work in partnership with train firms to help deliver local rail improvements, and practical steps to increase investment in new trains and services.

By contrast, under the current Government, overcrowding is becoming an ever greater problem on the railways, and at the same time train operating companies are increasing fares at rates well above inflation.

The proposals, unveiled in a Conservative rail review, call for:

Longer, better franchises: Short franchises discourage private sector investment in better trains. Instead, 15-20 year franchises should be the norm to give greater certainty and encourage investment in new and better trains.

Innovation in local rail improvements: Funding for smaller scale capacity enhancements, currently dealt with by Network Rail, should be contestable and open to other providers, including train operating companies, local councils and Community Rail Partnerships.

A moratorium on building on disused rail paths: Any disused railway lines still in public ownership should be conserved for the moment, to keep alive the possibility of reopening them to rail travel in the future. Protecting these corridors will also allow their use by pedestrians and cyclists in the interim.

Setting the pace on high speed rail: There should be a new high speed line connecting Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Heathrow. This would be the first step in a national high speed network which would see the line extended to Newcastle and Scotland with further new lines linking up major cities across the UK.

A new Passenger Champion: Passengers should have a one-stop-shop to complain to when things go wrong and to represent their interests; it would have the power to bang heads together to ensure that performance is improved, regardless of where the fault lies.

Ms Dunleavy said: “The Government now has more control over the railways than in the days of British Rail. But after a decade of Labour, our railways are becoming more and more overcrowded and increasingly expensive, with fares soaring this year.

“We desperately need new capacity with longer trains, longer platforms and additional lines. These practical proposals would give a greater say for local people and less for Whitehall bureaucrats.”

Notes to Editors

PLANS TO IMPROVE BRITAIN’S RAILWAYS

On 11 February, Conservatives launched a detailed plan to improve Britain’s rail network.

http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/02/Getting_the_best_for_rail_passengers.aspx

The recommendations include:

Longer, better franchises.   Short franchises discourage private sector investment. We will make 15-20 year franchises the norm to give greater certainty and encourage investment in new capacity. We will also assess franchise bids more qualitatively – looking at what they will deliver for the passenger, and not simply on how much money they will pay to the Government.

Promoting innovation in delivering rail improvements.  We will make funding for smaller scale capacity enhancements, currently dealt with by Network Rail, contestable and open to other providers, including train operating companies, local authorities and Community Rail Partnerships. This will improve efficiency and help provide an important benchmark for Network Rail’s performance. Community Rail Partnership are designed to involve local people in the development and running of local and rural routes, services and stations, and tend to be made up of a railway operator and local councils.

A moratorium on building on disused rail paths.  This will last for at least our first term in Government and will conserve any disused railway lines still in public ownership. As well as keeping alive the possibility of reopening them to rail travel in the future, protecting these corridors will also facilitate their use by pedestrians and cyclists in the interim.

Setting the pace on high speed rail.  A Conservative Government will give the go ahead for a new high speed line connecting Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Heathrow. We see this as the first step in a national high speed network which will see our line extended to Newcastle and Scotland with further new lines linking up major cities across the UK.

Increasing the powers of the regulator to create a Passenger Champion.   Passengers should have a one-stop-shop to complain to when things go wrong and to represent their interests; so we will expand the remit of the Office of Rail Regulation to create a powerful consumer-focussed regulator with the power to bang heads together to ensure that performance is improved, regardless of where the fault lies. We would give the regulator stronger powers to ensure Network Rail delivers what passengers want, and we would introduce tougher and more effective penalties for failure, including strengthening the power of the regulator to block the bonuses of senior management where appropriate.

Reforming Network Rail to make it more accountable to passengers and train operators.   We will create a new supervisory board with a stronger voice for passengers and train operators. It will have the power to hold the Network Rail management to account and to set the overall strategy for the company.

Ending Whitehall meddling.  Micromanagement from Whitehall is getting in the way of innovation and making it harder to deliver the new capacity that passengers want. We would put an end to this by radically scaling back the involvement of the Government in areas such as timetabling and the purchasing of new rolling stock.

Better co-operation between the management of track and train.  We will strengthen and extend the duties imposed on Network Rail to co-operate with train and freight operators and keep them properly informed on matters relevant to the efficient running of services. We will seek to align Network Rail’s regulatory incentives as closely as possible with the concerns of train and freight operators and the passengers and businesses they serve. We will promote collaborative working practices across the rail industry. We will create a unified regulatory structure for the industry and give train and freight operators a stronger say in the governance of Network Rail. We also propose to run 2 pilot schemes to assess the impact of unified management of track and train.

RISING FARES UNDER LABOUR  By contrast, this comes as the Government is letting the train companies push up rail fares by above inflation, with season tickets rising by 6% and leisure fares by 7%.

Figures by rail company are listed at Association of Train Operating Companies, press release, 21 November 2008. http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/atocpress-story.php?atoc=997885