Obscene rewards for a Third World service

THE highest fare increases for five years... Thousands of journeys disrupted by vindictive strikes... Chronic overcrowding... Endless delays and cancellations.

Throughout 2017, the Mail highlighted a litany of failures on the railways that pushed travellers to the limits of endurance. But for the men who run the network, the gravy train just keeps rolling on.

We report today on the eye-popping bonuses operating company bosses are set to pocket in 2018 – some well into seven figures. Even if they delivered a first-class product, such rewards would be lavish. For the badly managed Third World service they do provide, they’re obscene. Meanwhile, the RMT union – which represents train guards – piles on the misery with yet more unwarranted strikes. They claim to be worried about the safety of driver-only operated trains but this is a canard. Such services have been operating in some areas for years without incident.

The dispute is really about politics and money, as the train drivers’ union Aslef proved when it agreed to man the trains in exchange for a 28.5 per cent pay rise.

The railways are essential to Britain’s prosperity. If we are to capitalise on the huge opportunities of Brexit, they must provide a reliable service at reasonable prices. So before spending £56billion on HS2, the Government should make sure our existing rail system actually works.

Labour, of course, says the answer is renationalisation, ignoring the fact that services were even more strike-bound and decrepit under public ownership.

What’s needed is not the dead hand of state control, but a regulator with teeth and ministers with the will to make the system run for the benefit of passengers. Right now, they seem to be the very last consideration.