Labour will today force ministers to parliament to
demand answers over the ongoing northern rail chaos, as analysis
of official figures shows almost 18,000 northern rail
services each month are being lost.
Passengers and businesses in towns and cities across the north
have faced daily disruption following the decision to slash
services on the Trans Pennine and Avanti West Coast Route.
Labour today warned Ministers were “rewarding abject failure”
after data revealed £12m in dividends were approved to under-fire
operator Avanti West Coast.
As chaos mounts Louise Haigh, Labour’s Shadow Transport
Secretary, demanded ministers take immediate action to hold
failing operators to account including:
- Putting failing operators Avanti West Coast and TPE on a
binding remedial plan to restore services, with clear penalties
including withdrawal of the contract.
- Claw back taxpayers’ money after figures showed ministers
approved a £12m reward to Avanti, the country’s worst performing
operator.
- Demand the Secretary of State come clean on whether he is
blocking an offer on rest day working.
- Commit to deliver infrastructure fit for the century
ahead by building the transformational Northern Powerhouse Rail
project in full.
- Recent analysis estimated poor transport connectivity was
costing the north £16bn per year in lost growth.
, Labour’s Shadow Transport
Secretary, said:
“A lost decade of Conservative failure has left the country with
second-rate infrastructure, and rail services in crisis, holding
the economy back.”
“It's utterly absurd that millions cannot rely on the train to
get to work, and flies in the face of countless promises made by
the Tories to connect our towns and cities.”
“Enough is enough – it is time for ministers to stop rewarding
abject failure and deliver a clear plan to tackle this chaos.”
Ends
Notes
Labour’s Louise Haigh has demanded the new Transport Secretary:
- Put failing operators on a binding remedial plan to restore
services, with clear penalties and withdraw the contract if there
is no improvement.
- Claw back taxpayers’ money being dished out as a reward for
failure after yesterday’s figures showed £12m in dividends went
to Avanti, the country’s worst performing operator.
- And demand the SoS come clean on whether he is blocking an
offer on rest day working.
- Commit to deliver infrastructure fit for the century
ahead by building the transformational Northern Powerhouse Rail
project in full.
Latest figures
(16th October-12th November) show
17,844 fewer services compared to comparable periods.
-
Avanti + TPE + Northern show planned services have fallen
by almost quarter (Services cancelled the night before are not
included in the planned services figure and so this measure
picks up the number of services slashed before the 10pm cut
off):
2017/18, Period 8 – 79,137
2022/23, Period 8 – 61,293
% difference – 23%
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/table-3124-trains-planned-and-cancellations-by-operator-and-cause-periodic/
And on-the-day cancellations have risen by 50% in the
same period: This does not include cancellations as
a result of industrial action, as it is cancellations ‘on the day
cancellations’.
-
Avanti + TPE + Northern – cancellations from the already
severely reduced service has surged in the last four
years…
2022/23, period 8 (October-November) 4141
2017/18, Period 8 (October-November) 2779
% increase – 49%
Avanti performance
- The latest Office for Road and Rail data, released today
indicated that Avanti West Coast paid £12m in dividends for
2021/22 despite £343m taxpayer support to
cover costs as a result of Covid
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance/table-7223-franchised-passenger-train-operator-finances-by-franchise-latest-year/
- Last year Avanti West Coast paid £11.5m in dividends:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/21/avanti-paid-shareholders-115m-despite-abysmal-service-for-rail-users
- In the previous year 2020-21, Avanti West Coast was
separately given over £17.132m in performance and management
fees by Ministers:
DfT payments to passenger
rail operators under emergency agreements and National Rail
Contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
- This included in 2020-21, Avanti West Coast were awarded
£3,890,000 bonus for “operational performance, customer
satisfaction and acting as a good and efficient operator”:
DfT payments to passenger
rail operators under emergency agreements and National Rail
Contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- The government admit that taxpayers’ money for these ‘fees’
can be funnelled straight into the pockets of
shareholders: “Separately, TOCs can also earn
management and performance fees. These are payable
retrospectively on receipt of audited statutory accounts covering
the period to which the fees relate. In due course, and subject
to conditions, they represent earnings that can be passed on to
shareholders."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-payments-to-passenger-rail-operators-under-emergency-agreements
-
And a recent answer to a Written Parliamentary Question
revealed that ministers are required to approve dividend
payments: “After the fee has been paid, rail
operators must apply to the Department for permission to pay
dividends to their parent companies, and must meet stringent
reporting and financial requirements to the satisfaction of the
Department before any dividends may be paid. The provisions on
payment of dividends varies between contracts, but under
Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements and National Rail
Contracts, TOCs may apply annually to the Department for
permission to distribute the value of any fees they have earnt
(adjusted for tax) and the value of retained earnings
pre-Emergency Measures Agreements period to their owning groups
as dividends.”
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-09-21/53555
-
This payment comes despite Avanti being the worst
operator on the network for delays:
Q1: 60.1% punctuality – worst number of delays on the network
- https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/1995/passenger-performance-2021-22-q1.pdf
Q2: 55.8% punctuality – worst number of delays on the network
and having slashed services by 21% - https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/2039/passenger-performance-2021-22-q2.pdf
Q3: 45.3% punctuality – worst number of delays on the network
- https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/2048/passenger-performance-2021-22-q3.pdf
Q4: 51.0% punctuality – worst number of delays on the
network
- And despite cancelling over 3,500 services:
-
