To be fair, one railway promise made in the 2019 Conservative manifesto was sort-of kept. No, it wasn’t this one: “We will have an infrastructure revolution for this country.” During the current parliament, the desperately needed High Speed 2 rail project has been progressively pruned to leave only a pathetic link between Birmingham and a patch of wasteland in west London.
Yet the Tories also vowed: “We will require that a minimum service operates during transport strikes.” A law was duly enacted, and train operators can require striking staff to work to provide 40 per cent of timetabled services.
Unfortunately for the legislators, it has proved ineffective. Only one rail firm ever tried it: LNER, which just happens to be owned by the government. As soon as bosses told the train drivers’ union, Aslef, of their intention to require two out of five services to be run, the immediate response was a fresh strike call that would wipe out far more journeys. LNER retracted the demand.
There are lies, damned lies and party promises about the railways.
Given that Sir Keir Starmer appears destined to become the next prime minister, Getting Britain Moving: Labour’s Plan to Fix Britain’s Railways deserves scrutiny. I have read it all so you don’t have to – and also noted the vows made by the shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh.
She says: “As secretary of state, I won’t be running the operation of the railways day to day, but I will be the passenger-in-chief, setting the strategy to improve our railways.”
So what will change?
“An incoming Labour government will establish a new, arm’s length public body – Great British Railways – which will be a directing mind in charge of Britain’s railway infrastructure and service.” That is exactly what the current government promised but has yet to deliver. It will have three responsibilities, says Ms Haigh:
- Day-to-day operational delivery of the railways
- Ensuring infrastructure and services work together
- Innovations and improvements in the experience of passengers
Fare-paying passengers, as well as taxpayers who pump £7.5bn a year into an increasingly decrepit railway but never go near a train, deserve a far better deal. Let us hope the next government is up to the task. However, I am more interested in three of the specific promises Ms Haigh has made rather than strategic…
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