McMahon responds to the Government's review of Britain's railways
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Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to
the Government's review of Britain's railways, said: “Nearly three
years after it was commissioned, this report raises more questions
than it answers. With fare hikes, £1 billion cuts to Network Rail
and broken promises to communities across the country, it’s yet
another example of ministers talking a good game, with very little
substance underneath. “A lack of proper detail on flexible tickets
and...Request free trial
Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to the Government's review of Britain's railways, said: “Nearly three years after it was commissioned, this report raises more questions than it answers. With fare hikes, £1 billion cuts to Network Rail and broken promises to communities across the country, it’s yet another example of ministers talking a good game, with very little substance underneath. “A lack of proper detail on flexible tickets and whether it will make travel cheaper for the average commuter renders it meaningless for millions and completely fails to meet the scale of challenge required to encourage people back onto the rail network post-pandemic.
"When long term sustainable funding is promised, it must be
delivered on. Labour has long argued that public ownership of the
rail network will provide better value for the taxpayer and for
passengers, who deserve more than rhetoric from this
Government.” Notes to editors: Labour analysis has shown the Tories have re-announced or re-committed to major rail projects in the North more than 60 times in the last seven years – yet there have been zero spades in the ground. Dozens of Government press releases have referenced variations of Northern Powerhouse Rail, Crossrail for the North or HS3 since former Chancellor George Osborne proposed a new high speed link between Leeds and Manchester in June 2014.
June 2014 - in a speech in Manchester, then-Chancellor George Osborne proposes a new high-speed link between Leeds and Manchester. August 2014 – An alliance of six city councils unveiled the first route plan for a new trans-Pennine high speed rail link, backed on the day by Osborne. March 2015 – DfT publishes plans for transport infrastructure in the North of England, including proposals for a new line linking Liverpool to Hull. General Election 2015 – the Tory Manifesto pledges to ‘develop High Speed 3 to join up the North’ March 2016 - At the Budget 2016, Osborne backs the NIC’s report calling for High Speed North. The report noted that ‘it takes longer to get from Liverpool to Hull by train than to travel twice the distance from London to Paris.’ General Election 2017 – the Tory Manifesto promises to ‘continue our programme of strategic national investments, including High Speed 2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the expansion of Heathrow airport’. October 2017 – Then-Chancellor Philip Hammond recommits to Northern Powerhouse Rail (as it then came to be more regularly called) and allocated £300m to future-proof junctions between Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2. March 2019 – a new Government commission is set up to plan a new £6bn city centre station in Liverpool to accommodate HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail July 2019 – Boris Johnson pledges to fund the Leeds to Manchester section as proposed by Transport for the North, as a first stage. September 2019 – the Government rows back on committing to the exact route plan. General Election 2019 – The Tory Manifesto states ‘now is the time to invest in Northern Powerhouse Rail’. February 2020 – Andrew Stephenson is named ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 Minister’ splitting the role from the brief of Rail Minister, and is tasked with ‘keeping a firm grip on these vital projects’ October 2020 – Grant Shapps recommits to Northern Powerhouse Rail in his speech to the Great Northern Conference. Feb 2021 – The Government tells Transport for the North to hold off on submitting its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail Tory ministers have re-announced or re-committed to major rail projects in the North more than 60 times in the last seven years Gov.uk, News and communication, https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications?keywords=%22northern+powerhouse+rail%22&order=relevance
“The promise (of a new rail line) was wrapped-in George Osborne’s vision for a ‘northern powerhouse’ but, as with that concept, it is being allowed to slowly slide from view.” Jim McMahon, 27 July 2017, https://labourlist.org/2017/07/jim-mcmahon-another-broken-tory-transport-promise-shows-why-the-north-must-wrest-power-from-whitehall/
Rail fares rises
Five example commuter routes in the North
Network Rail cut The Government revealed in a written Parliamentary Question to Labour’s Jim McMahon that they were cutting Network Rail’s enhancement budget by £1 billion over the next three years. The Department for Transport’s Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline lists the projects that that this fund would be spent on. It’s split into three stages, from those furthest along the pipeline and closest to being built to those in the earlier development and design phase. As a result of the £1bn cut, the Government must publish an updated pipeline as soon as possible. For those places and passengers waiting for much needed improvements, and for the workers and firms relying on this pipeline of work, ministers have to provide certainty without delay. Assuming that those projects in the final stage are likely to get built along with any firm Conservative party manifesto commitments, there remains at least 20 projects in the other two stages that are under threat.
Pacer trains The Government said they would scrap pacer trains in 2015. Yet they were still in use on the network until late 2020. Transport spending per head
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