Poor rail performance will see brands hit the buffers – Transport Secretary

Louise Haigh will “rip up contracts early” if train companies do not live up to the Government’s expectations.

Speaking to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill at its second reading, the Transport Secretary promised a “fundamental reform” of railways in Great Britain if the proposed law is passed.

Conservative shadow transport secretary Helen Whately labelled the Bill “a rushed piece of left-wing ideology” while the Liberal Democrats’ transport spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse told MPs passengers were “repeatedly failed” under the previous government.

Ms Haigh said: “At the general election, when millions of people called time on years of dysfunction, disruption and decline, they demanded change not only in how this country is governed, but in how it works.

“Because, for too many, from our economy to our public services, this country simply does not work any more. The things we rely on are letting us down too often.

“Lifelines have turned into liabilities.”

The six-page Bill would block ministers in normal circumstances from extending or entering into new agreements with privately-owned firms, when their existing contracts come to a stop.

It means privately-owned brands such as Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and Thameslink would be gradually replaced with new, publicly-owned firms.

Ms Haigh also told the Commons: “I’ve no doubt, we’ll hear plenty of voices from the benches opposite labelling this as an ‘ideological’ move.

“Those accusations are way off the mark. There is nothing ideological about fixing what’s broken and about reforming what doesn’t work.”

The Labour frontbencher promised to reform “the overly complex fare system so passengers are confident they’re getting the best value”, tackle overcrowding on busy trains by moving vehicles to where they are needed, roll out benefits like digital pay-as-you-go across the network and “put accessibility at the core of our rail offer, so passengers with disabilities can expect a consistent level of service”.

She also proposed in the long term a single company which will run both track and trains, a suggestion that her department could merge Network Rail – the public body which owns and runs infrastructure like tracks, wires and signals – with the train operating companies.

“That means fundamental reform – no ifs, no buts,” the Transport Secretary said.

“I will not tolerate the status quo. I will not hesitate to demand improvements and I won’t be afraid to rip up contracts early if operators default on their obligations to the public.”

The Conservative shadow transport secretary faced laughter from the Labour Government benches when she said Great Britain’s existing rail system is “envied” by European neighbours.

Ms Whately said: “We often hear it said in this country that our rail system should be more like those in Europe, where under a utopian system of public ownership the trains always run on time and every journey costs less than a pint of beer.

“But that’s not how the Europeans see it. In fact, in terms of the growth in passenger numbers, and the controls on cost that privatisation delivered, our network is actually envied by Europe.”

Ms Whately added: “I will gladly offer my support to anything (Ms Haigh) does to make our railways more reliable and more affordable. This Bill isn’t going to do that. It’s a rushed piece of left-wing ideology.

“The evidence both here in the UK and across Europe shows an effective public-private model where the incentives are properly aligned delivers more choice, more passengers and greater efficiency.”

Ms Hobhouse said: “Our railways are in dire need of improvement. Under the last Conservative government, passengers were repeatedly failed.

“Services are poor and the ticketing system is in shambles all while the public keeps paying more and more year on year.”