UK: Calls for a long-term plan for rail in the north of England dominated Transport for the North’s annual conference on December 14.
Leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake called for local accountability, insisting that ‘elected politicians must have a say on projects to reflect the views of those who elected them’, rather than officials in Whitehall.
This view was echoed by Transport Focus director David Sidebottom, who called for the government to provide more clarity over its plans. ‘Passengers and taxpayers are shareholders and they need to see the working out and the funding plans, the question is “What are they buying for the future?”’
Fed up with reviews
Midlands Connect Director Maria Machancoses called for actions rather than vague promises, adding that ‘there shouldn’t be a division between the Midlands and the north’. She said ‘business needs good connections between the regions and especially to the Port of Liverpool. More than anything businesses want certainty and pace, with clear decisions from government.’
Calling for an end to the endless process of ‘thinking about things’, Machancoses said ‘I really would like to stop reviews; the Midlands is really fed up with reviews all the time — we’ve been talking seriously about HS2 for maybe 14 years, and here we are, we still don’t know what’s going to happen to the eastern leg, that is not good for anybody. Reform with an action plan, rather than a review and then a review. Stop undertaking reviews of the railways and crack on with reforms.’
Return to rail
Looking at the immediate challenge, Sidebottom reported that 2 000 people per week are being surveyed by Transport Focus and asked about returning to train travel.
Nine out of 10 who are now using trains say they are ‘satisfied with experience and feel safe’ which he said ‘reflects the hard work done by industry’.
However he said ‘there is a perception gap between these and those who have not tried train travel. We need to encourage people to try trains because before travelling many think they will be less safe than they find themselves to be once they have travelled’.
Sidebottom’s call for fares reform to reflect changing travel patterns was echoed by former Rail Minister Andrew Jones, with both noting that fare changes will be needed to incentivise people to travel.
Transport Focus reported that its research supports already strong evidence that commuting is unlikely to return to being a five-day a week practice, and therefore ticket offers need to be responsive to this changed market. ‘80% of previous users say they will come back to commuting if the ticket offer is good’, he said. ‘In cities it is expected that there will be a reduction of around 18% in office space and two-thirds of businesses reckon business travel will be reduced.
He also cited comments from CBI which suggest that ticketing reform is vital if business travel is to return and be sustained.
With the dream of a multi-modal smartcard across the whole of the north of England still some way off, Sidebottom suggested that a rail-only smartcard could be the first step, providing a visible offer for passengers. However, this would involve bringing the Treasury onside and it currently appears to be reluctant to provide additional taxpayer support for the rail sector.
‘Franchising has played a positive role’
With an eye on the current situation and government plans for the future of passenger operators, Jones indicated that he was struggling to understand the thinking behind the plans outlined by DfT.
‘Franchising has played a positive role over the years; it took passenger numbers from 760 million to 1·8 billion’, he noted. ‘However, in the future it’s going to be a bit harder to make it work and I’m not sure how concessions will work unless the operators are incentivised to grow their business.’
Jones agreed that more local involvement was needed, but suggested that with local accountability there must be ‘financial responsibility’ and an end to constant demands for more funding. ‘Anyone can play the game of saying “I want more” in politics.’
Motorways for trains
The conference took place ahead of the release of the National Infrastructure Commission report which threw further doubt on the future of the eastern leg of HS2.
Jones said ‘HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail are “motorways for trains” connecting our cities, and we need to keep the pressure up on the eastern leg as it is vital.”
This was echoed by Blake, who was critical of the way the project has been managed and of the way it was first promoted by politicians. ‘It was a big mistake to talk about speed — it’s about connectivity for the next 150 years. HS2 is absolutely vital and must be linked to NPR — you can’t have one without the other. This is about connecting 13 million people, equivalent to the entire economy of Denmark. It needs resolving quickly and with certainty.’
The situation was summed up by Northern Powerhouse Partnership Director Henri Murison who turned his fire towards the government and past promises made the Prime Minister. ‘We have got to be able to get this infrastructure built quickly; just sitting around at the DfT waiting for review after review to finish is not the right approach and the sooner we get a delivery body in place that’s empowered to build that part of the railway the better. Boris Johnson promised something along those lines when he coined the term High Speed North.
‘We’re really keen to see the government get serious about actually building something. The government loves the idea of NPR from Leeds to Manchester but that’s not the same as getting on and building it. A delivery body with the mandate to build new lines is the thing that we need to see sooner rather than later.’
