Grayling points trains in the right direction

As Sir Humphrey Appleby might have said, it takes a courageous minister to embark upon a new strategy for the railways with any great degree of optimism. Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, is the latest in a long line of office holders to grapple with a leviathan that has crushed the life out of many of his predecessors. It was especially bold to conjure up the ghost of Dr Beeching, whose axe-wielding in the early 1960s was a manifestation of a problem that still afflicts the railways – how to make them pay. Not only that, but how to ensure the trains run on time, are reasonably priced, are not overcrowded and are safe to use.

In the foreword to his White Paper, Mr Grayling points out that, unlike past occupants of his post, he presides over a rail network that is actually growing. More passengers are carried by train than at any time since the 1920s. Investment is being made in new rolling stock, longer trains and new lines, the first to be opened since the Beeching Axe fell. The privatisation of the railways in the 1990s took place at a time when it was assumed they were in terminal decline. Yet they have thrived.

None the less, they still require a massive public subsidy, bigger, indeed, than when they were sold. Moreover, the infrastructure remains a state responsibility through Network Rail, itself the progeny of the failed Railtrack. How to merge the operating companies with track ownership in pursuit of efficiency and seamless delivery has been a conundrum since privatisation. The White Paper sets out proposals to end the divide between track and train and improve the commercial models used to contract for passenger services.

A simpler, more accountable structure is a good idea, but implementing it will not be easy unless responsibility for anything that goes wrong is also shared. Opening lines shut by Beeching is also welcome, though few will pass the tests set in the White Paper – to enable new housing or economic development, ease congestion elsewhere on the transport system and offer value for money. Seaside towns hoping to see their branch lines reopened are likely to be disappointed.

Beeching’s cuts were a response to a fall in passenger numbers as families switched to cars. Ironically, just as Mr Grayling sets out a long-term transformative strategy for an expanding rail network, the onset of driverless vehicles means the landscape may be changing once more.