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 30 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 it
was 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 needs 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 is 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 good
will 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.
