Statement made by , Secretary of State for
Transport
Members will be aware that, in July 2022, Avanti West Coast
experienced an immediate and near total cessation of drivers
volunteering to work on passenger trains on rest days. In
response, it has had to reduce its timetable to provide greater
certainty for passengers.
Similarly, TransPennine Express services continue to be impacted
by the loss of rest day working, higher-than-average staff
sickness levels, and historically high levels of drivers leaving
the business.
The current rail services in the North have therefore been
unacceptable, and on November 30th I met with the Northern mayors
in Manchester. In that meeting, we agreed that the rail industry
is not set up to deliver a modern reliable service, and that we
need both short-term and long-term measures to address this.
As a short-term measure, Avanti West Coast and TransPennine
Express have both been rapidly increasing the number of drivers
they employ. This is helping Avanti restore the services that
they were forced to withdraw. Services increased in September,
and have now increased to 7 trains per hour, restoring the full
Manchester-London service. It is therefore disappointing that
passengers will not see the full benefit of these changes until
the current wave of industrial action is over. I was pleased to
see the RMT call off the strike action scheduled for Avanti West
Coast on 11 and 12 December, as sustaining this level of service
will require the support of the trade unions.
I have also given TransPennine Express and Northern the scope
they need to put a meaningful and generous rest day working offer
to ASLEF. However, giving operators a mandate is only the first
step. ASLEF need to enter negotiations, and put any new deal to
its members and, if accepted, do all it can to make that deal
work. TransPennine has made a generous revised offer to ASLEF and
it was almost immediately rejected without being put to members.
It is up to the unions to decide if they want to improve
services, for the good of passengers and the wider economy in the
North.
Today, the RMT are on strike across the country again, disrupting
services and driving passengers away from the railway. In my
meeting with the mayors, we all agreed on the need for a reliable
railway seven days a week. That means not having fragile rest day
working agreements and breaking the railway’s dependence on rest
day working altogether. No modern and successful business relies
on the goodwill of its staff to deliver for its customers in the
evening and at the weekend. I want a railway with rewarding jobs,
contracted to deliver every service promised to the public. I
want to encourage passengers back to a financially sustainable
railway.
