Use it or lose it
THE coronavirus crisis has given the railways a problem they have not faced for decades: there is now far more capacity than actual passenger demand. Six months on from the initial countrywide lockdown, most trains are still carrying only a fraction of pre-Covid numbers. The success of home working, and the lack of space for social distancing in many offices, mean commuters have not yet returned in large numbers, while leisure travellers are still nervous about the perceived risk of train travel as well as other factors such as having to wear a mask throughout long journeys. With fare income still nowhere near covering costs, the Government has announced it is to continue the emergency agreements to fund rail services. But now it will also incentivise operators to attract more passengers back onto trains, while encouraging employers – and starting with the civil service – to return to office-based working where possible. No one yet knows how long we will have to live with coronavirus, but long-term is a real possibility, and we might therefore have to learn to live with it rather than hope for a return to the ‘old' normal. Railway operations are not cheap and the Government cannot continue supporting them for ever, so service cuts are a real possibility and – taken to extremes – this could even lead to closures.
STONEHAVEN REMEMBERED
The tragedy at Stonehaven happened just after we went to press last month, but I wanted to put on record that the thoughts of the entire Rail Express team are with those affected by it. Our readers – not least the many train crew, rail staff and managers amongst them – will know the rarity of such events, as Britain's railways are amongst the safest in the world, but that does make it any easier to report the sad loss of three lives. Now as this issue goes to press, clear-up at the remote site is getting underway and we await the full report by the RAIB.