Tory obsession with privatisation putting future of the railway at risk - McDonald

Tuesday, 24 July 2018 13:34

Labour is today releasing analysis of overcrowded rail services which reveals that: - Overcrowding on our railways is at one of the highest levels since records began - The top 10 most overcrowded peak train routes are on average 187 per cent in excess of capacity, an increase of more than 25 per cent since 2011....Request free trial

Labour is today releasing analysis of overcrowded rail services which reveals that:

- Overcrowding on our railways is at one of the highest levels since records began

- The top 10 most overcrowded peak train routes are on average 187 per cent in excess of capacity, an increase of more than 25 per cent since 2011.

- The most overcrowded route in 2017 was the 07:16 Southern service from East Grinstead to London Bridge, by extra passenger capacity. The service had nearly twice (191per cent) the number of passengers on the train that the service is designed to be able to carry.

- The top 10 most overcrowded peak train routes will be an average over 207 percent in excess of capacity by the end of the parliament.

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on these figures, said:

“Under the Tories, rail fares have risen three times faster than average wages, and all the while severe disruptions have blighted the network with trains often delayed or cancelled. So it’s no surprise that passengers are sick of paying extortionate fares to endure overcrowded services, crammed into carriages that are well over capacity.

“With passengers being put off and priced out of the railway there is a serious threat to its sustainability. The Tory franchising model is based on ever-increasing passenger numbers, so today’s fall in growth will hit train company revenues and will lead to further taxpayer bailouts of the private sector.

“The government’s blind obsession with privatisation is putting the future of the railway at risk. The next Labour government will do what’s best for passengers and taxpayers by taking the railway back into public ownership in order to improve services and cap fares.”

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The table below lists the most overcrowded route each year since 2011 and the amount in excess of capacity. The most overcrowded route last year was the 04.22 from Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport which was 211 per cent in excess of capacity.

year	Train Operating Company	Departure time	Origin station	Destination station	Arrival time	Standard class passenger capacity	Standard class passenger load	Passengers in excess of capacity	Standard class load factor
2011	First Great Western	07.44	Henley-on-Thames	London Paddington	08.29	225	404	179	180%
2012	Heathrow Connect	08.27	Heathrow T1,2,3	London Paddington	08.54	476	786	310	165%
2013	London Midland	16:46	London Euston	Crewe	19:24	206	435	229	211%
2014	Trans Pennine Express	04.22	Glasgow Central	Manchester Airport	08.47	191	355	164	186%
2015	Govia Thameslink Railway	08:20	Brighton	Bedford	09:25	420	960	540	229%
2016	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1366	726	213%
2017	TransPennine Express	04.22	Glasgow Central	Manchester Airport	08.44	191	403	212	211%

Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services, 24 July 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-overcrowded-train-services-england-and-wales-2017?utm_source=e571d64d-0830-4245-b33e-771f5a4d9df0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

2. The table below lists the most overcrowded peak train services by the number of passengers above capacity. Once again, the 07:16 service from East Grinstead is the most in excess of capacity – more so than any route since the Department for transport began recording these statistics in 2011.

year	Train Operating Company	Departure time	Origin station	Destination station	Arrival time	Standard class passenger capacity	Standard class passenger load	Passengers in excess of capacity	Standard class load factor
2011	South West Trains	07.32	Woking	London Waterloo	08.19	738	1209	471	164%
2012	Southern	07.32	Tattenham Corner	London Bridge	08.28	860	1324	464	154%
2013	South West Trains	07:32	Woking	London Waterloo	08:19	738	1,278	540	173%
2014	South West Trains	07.32	Woking	London Waterloo	08.19	738	1180	442	160%
2015	Govia Thameslink Railway	08:20	Brighton	Bedford	09:25	420	960	540	229%
2016	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1366	726	213%
2017	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1220	580	191%

3. The table below shows the average per cent that the standard class were in excess of capacity on the 10 most overcrowded peak train services in major cities in England and Wales for each year from 2011 – 2017. Last year was the second highest on record on average.

Rank of the most overcrowded service that year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
1	180	184	211	186	229	213	211
2	164	173	173	185	215	211	202
3	162	166	173	176	196	194	199
4	160	159	169	171	176	193	191
5	158	158	166	164	171	187	187
6	157	156	164	164	166	184	178
7	155	154	157	161	166	184	176
8	154	152	156	161	166	180	176
9	152	150	155	160	163	180	175
10	152	149	153	158	161	177	172
average	159.4	160.1	167.7	168.6	180.9	190.3	187

Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services, 24 July 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-overcrowded-train-services-england-and-wales-2017?utm_source=e571d64d-0830-4245-b33e-771f5a4d9df0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

4. If the current rate of growth continues, by the end of the current parliament, in 2022, the average for the ten most overcrowded routes in that year is set to be over 200 percent in excess of capacity.

year	average of the top ten most overcrowded service that year	average increase year each from 2011-2016
2011	159.4
2012	160.1
2013	167.7
2014	168.6
2015	180.9
2016	190.3
2017	187.7	4.04

2018	191.7
2019	195.8
2020	199.8
2021	203.9
2022	207.9

Methodology: Figures for 2011-2017 are taken from Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services autumn each year, 24 July 2018. Calculations have then calculated the average growth per year, which is 4.04 per cent. Assuming this rate of growth in overcrowding for the next five years gives us a figure of 208 per cent.

5. The table below show the number of passengers that were on a train service during peak time which was in excess of capacity in corresponding cities.

	Overall percentage of passengers in excess of capacity on their train service at peak times
City	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Birmingham	2.1%	0.8%	0.8%	1.2%	1.9%	1.1%	2.0%
Brighton							0.1%
Bristol	0.8%	0.5%	1.0%	0.1%	1.4%	2.6%	1.5%
Cambridge							4.3%
Cardiff	0.6%	0.3%	0.7%	0.5%	1.7%	1.8%	2.6%
Leeds	1.8%	1.8%	1.5%	1.6%	1.7%	2.4%	2.5%
Leicester	0.6%	0.8%	1.0%	2.0%	2.5%	2.0%	2.6%
Liverpool	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
Manchester	2.1%	1.5%	1.6%	3.3%	2.9%	3.0%	3.2%
Newcastle	0.1%	0.2%	0.0%	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%	2.4%
Nottingham	0.2%	0.1%	0.0%	0.6%	0.1%	0.3%	0.8%
Reading							0.5%
Sheffield	1.6%	1.8%	2.6%	0.8%	1.1%	1.2%	1.0%
Total for cities outside London	1.4%	1.0%	1.0%	1.4%	1.7%	1.7%	1.9%

Blackfriars (via Elephant and Castle)	3.2%	3.1%	6.8%	7.9%	11.2%	12.1%	3.7%
Euston	5.0%	3.1%	4.9%	4.2%	4.1%	4.8%	4.3%
Fenchurch Street	2.6%	2.9%	4.0%	4.9%	6.6%	3.9%	4.2%
King's Cross	1.2%	0.6%	1.7%	2.8%	3.6%	5.5%	7.3%
Liverpool Street	4.1%	3.1%	2.6%	3.9%	4.1%	5.2%	5.6%
London Bridge	2.2%	2.0%	1.4%	2.0%	1.8%	2.7%	2.4%
Marylebone	3.3%	5.2%	2.4%	3.9%	4.1%	3.1%	5.9%
Moorgate	3.0%	1.8%	1.2%	8.0%	8.5%	4.0%	4.4%
Paddington	9.9%	7.1%	9.2%	10.1%	6.6%	6.9%	3.7%
St. Pancras International	2.8%	1.9%	2.5%	6.9%	6.9%	4.8%	2.5%
Victoria	2.1%	3.0%	2.2%	1.9%	2.8%	3.4%	1.8%
Waterloo	3.4%	4.2%	4.1%	4.6%	4.8%	4.1%	6.0%

London	3.3%	3.1%	3.1%	4.1%	4.4%	4.5%	4.1%

Total for all cities	2.8%	2.6%	2.6%	3.5%	3.8%	3.8%	3.5%

Department for Transport, Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays, Table RAI0209, 24 July 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/rai02-capacity-and-overcrowding?utm_source=59b6f71d-7ccd-41fd-ad90-23a41f83d18e&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

6. While overcrowding rises under the Tories, so does the cost of travelling on the railways. Regulated rail fares – which includes most commuter tickets, including season tickets – rise annually in accordance with the RPI inflation rate of the preceding July. As of January 2017, commuter fares have risen by a cumulative average of 32 per cent since 2010.

7. A Labour Government will cap regulated fair rises at the Consumer Price Index (CPI), using the money saved through bringing rail franchises back into public ownership.