Chris Grayling
Transport Secretary tells Conservative conference that disruption after May’s timetable chaos cannot be repeated.
DISRUPTION of the sort that followed the May timetable change will not happen again, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling assured delegates at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on October 1.
“I have already apologised for the disruption caused by the failures in the introduction of the new timetable in May. It was unacceptable,” said Grayling at the start of the section of his speech devoted to the railways.
“And I want to say now again how sorry I am that so many passengers had such a difficult time. The chaos cannot and will not be allowed to happen again.”
Grayling pointed out some of the issues that he believes face the railway, saying: “It is clear that the system has greater challenges than a failed timetable introduction. In the last 20 years the railways have been through an extraordinary period of growth.
“The number of trains and passengers travelling has doubled. Trains are packed. The network is creaking. Passengers experience too many things going wrong.”
He announced ‘one-click’ compensation for delayed passengers (see separate story), and claimed the Conservatives are spending more on railways “than any government in modern times” but that there was “much ground to catch up”.
However, he warned: “I do not believe the industry is making the most of our investment. It’s clear that the way our railways are run no longer works when the system is under pressure.”
He explained that the Government is seeking to provide greater integration between infrastructure manager Network Rail and train operators, adding: “But that process of evolution is no longer enough… we need wholesale change, and I have asked Keith [Williams, leader of the government’s rail review, RAIL 862] to set out the best way of delivering just that. And to do so quickly. We will publish a White Paper on delivering a rail revolution for Britain next year, and we will begin work immediately to deliver a more passenger-focused railway.”
Responding to Grayling’s speech, Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said: “After eight years of failure on transport, the time for tinkering at the edges is over. Rail is in chaos, and the Tories’ one-click compensation plans are yet another cheap gimmick which does nothing to tackle the underlying problems causing misery to passengers across the country.
“Congestion on major roads has worsened, local roads have fallen into disrepair, the UK is failing on air pollution, and we are set to miss the Paris climate change targets. Investment in public transport is how to reduce congestion and make the most of transport investment.”