Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The UK transport secretary has called on train companies to take “immediate action” to improve reliability while launching a probe into the “woeful performance” of Britain’s railways.
Louise Haigh announced plans on Tuesday to call in the bosses of Britain’s worst-performing train companies for meetings over performance, after the number of cancellations reached record highs.
The Department for Transport said Haigh would “take train bosses to task over woeful performance”.
“Britain’s railways are failing passengers day in, day out, and . . . I’ve made it my number one priority to hold industry bosses to account,” Haigh said in a statement.
The Labour party has pledged to renationalise the passenger network within its first term by folding each operator into state control as its contract expires during the parliament. However, Haigh warned over the election campaign that she would look into terminating contracts earlier if train operators were performing poorly.
The minister met the boss of struggling Avanti West Coast on Tuesday, which has suffered from poor performance for nearly two years amid a breakdown in industrial relations with drivers and problems with West Coast main line infrastructure.
Avanti runs trains on some of the busiest intercity routes, connecting London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. The company cancelled about 7 per cent of its trains over the past year.
“I’ve called in the worst-performing train operating companies — starting with Avanti West Coast — alongside Network Rail and demanded immediate action to raise standards,” Haigh said.
Avanti West Coast said: “We met the secretary of state today alongside our colleagues at Network Rail to discuss the current challenges on the network. During the meeting we outlined the issues which are unique to us as well as those affecting the industry a whole. It was a constructive session, and we look forward to holding more discussions.”
Under Labour’s plans, passenger services and Network Rail, the publicly owned infrastructure manager, would be folded into a public body set up at arm’s length from the government.
To that end, Haigh said she has also called in Network Rail managers to discuss problems plaguing Britain’s ageing rail infrastructure, which have contributed to a jump in delays. These have hit 3.8 per cent over the 12 months to the end of March, the joint highest on record, according to the Office of Rail and Road regulator.
The minister has also met the leader of Aslef, the train drivers union, in a bid to end two years of walkouts over a pay dispute.
Avanti West Coast has been contacted for comment.
Read the full article here