Grayling sorry for rail chaos as anger mounts
Under-fire Minister calls for urgent action plan
EMBATTLED CHRIS Grayling yesterday apologised for the chaos the introduction of new train timetables had caused across the North as a metro mayor claimed passengers in the region were “invisible” to the Transport Secretary.
On a day where Mr Grayling faced calls in the Commons for his resignation and his salary to be docked over the East Coast rail franchise collapse, he described the disruption caused by the cancellation of hundreds of Northern rail services this week as “unacceptable”.
The Department for Transport yesterday revealed that Northern had submitted an urgent action plan to tackle its poor performance and that Mr Grayling would hold a teleconference with Northern leaders today to decide how to proceed.
Further disruption is expected today when Rail, Maritime and Transport union members at Arriva Rail North, which runs the Northern rail franchise, walk out for the first of two strikes.
Hundreds of services have been cancelled by Northern since departure times were rescheduled on Sunday, with the “significant operational challenge” of introducing 1,300 services a week cited as the reason for the problems.
Mr Grayling said yesterday it was “not good enough” for people to face this number of delays and cancellations, adding in the Commons: “I’m sorry this was the case.”
He said the Department for Transport (DfT) and others were working hard to solve the problem, but he insisted it was a “major teething problem” in what would be a “step forward for the railways”.
Mr Grayling also reserved criticism for Network Rail, the stateowned company responsible for Britain’s rail infrastructure, as he claimed it left the rest of the industry “struggling to catch up” after it was “far too late” in finalising planned timetable changes.
Mr Grayling has come under pressure to take action over the performance of Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway, which has faced calls to be stripped of its franchise.
Labour mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham earlier claimed passengers in the North were “invisible” to Mr Grayling as he was still waiting for a response to his request on Monday for an “urgent meeting”.
The Department for Transport said yesterday that Rail Minister Jo Johnson was leading discussions about the issue with Barry White, the chief executive of strategic body Transport in the North and had spoken to Mr Burnham.
Northern’s timetable recovery plan includes improving driver rostering to get more trains running and increasing driver training on new routes to get more services on line as quickly as possible. Managing director David Brown said: “We know the situation isn’t good enough and for that we are truly sorry. We‘re implementing actions that we have agreed with the Department for Transport.”
CHRIS GRAYLING faced fresh calls to resign as Transport Secretary yesterday as Labour MPs brutally criticised his handling of the collapse of the East Coast Main Line railway franchise.
The Opposition failed in a bid to cut Mr Grayling’s pay by £2,400 – the cost of a season ticket to London from his Epsom and Ewell constituency – after deeming that his handling of the Virgin-Stagecoach agreement had “fallen desperately short” of a Minister.
But MPs used the Labour debate to launch a scathing attack on his record in office.
Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff said the privatisation of the railways has been a “deep and unmitigated disaster” with a franchise system that is an “utter failure” that has left passengers paying “more and more of their hard earned money in exchange for a shoddier and shoddier service”.
The public are now “frankly sick of seeing the Secretary of State, he comes to this House time and time again to tell myself and my colleagues that our constituents’ experience of travelling by train – overpriced, late and packed in like sardines – aren’t accurate and don’t reflect the real picture,” she added.
The Labour MP accused Mr Grayling of “ducking and diving” meetings with her and colleagues concerned about the state of the railways in the North.
Quoting this newspaper, she went on: “I’m quite worried that if we continue to say to the Secretary of State that we’ll cut his pay if he continues some of the incompetencies, that he will actually turn out to be on less than the minimum wage by that point.
“Surely the buck has to stop somewhere?
“The Yorkshire Post recently took an unprecedented step of calling on the Secretary of State to resign and with a record like this surely he should and must be considering his position.”
Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald accused the Transport Secretary of being “asleep at the wheel” and said he was “incapable of being direct with Members of Parliament and the public alike”.
He said: “Stagecoach knew they wouldn’t meet their revenue targets weeks after taking over East Coast in March 2015; the company was in constant dialogue with the department about it. “The Secretary of State has been in post since July 2016 and must have known about this for that period of time. Why did he do nothing? Hasn’t this Transport Secretary been asleep at the wheel?”
He added: “The strategic vision embodies a Secretary of State’s approach to his ministerial brief and to announcements in this House, smoke, mirrors, ambiguities, jargon, technicalities, empty aspirations and discourtesy.”
Referring to Mr Grayling’s stint as Justice Secretary, after which his successor Michael Gove reversed a number of his policies, Mr McDonald added: “Like his time at justice, this Secretary of State must hope that he be moved on before his wrecking ball approach to decisions at the DfT (Department for Transport) reveal their true horrors.”
Hasn’t this Transport Secretary been asleep at the wheel?
Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald takes aim at his opposite number
IT’S ONLY fair to point out that Chris Grayling was present for the start of the latest Commons debate into his mismanagement of the Department for Transport – and that he was not stuck on a late-running train. However little else can be said in defence of the Transport Secretary.
This was epitomised by the first sentence uttered by Mr Grayling in response to misgivings about his handling of the collapse of the East Coast rail franchise for a third time in a decade: “What a lot of incoherence.” The irony of these words. This, after all, is a Minister who should be ashamed that he faced a censure motion because there’s so little confidence in him.
Accusing his opponents of peddling “misinformation”, Mr Grayling failed to show any humility and simply tried to blame Labour’s ideological opposition to rail privatisation for his many failings. The only concession was a contrite admission that the North is, in fact, served by “knackered old trains” before he left the Chamber to presumably authorise a press release, sent out by the DfT at 3.10pm when criticism was at its fiercest, saying plans to improve Northern rail are a top priority.
Yet the fact that there’s so much scepticism over his entire track record is because he – and his officials – have shown nothing but contempt for the regions; disrespect for Parliamentary etiquette and arrogance towards his accountability.
The North deserves better and The Yorkshire Post repeats its call for Mr Grayling’s resignation following this week’s perfect storm – cancelled trains because of poorly implemented timetable changes, fresh strike action by the unions, unanswered questions about rail franchises and a Macavity-like Transport Secretary who slipped out of the Commons when backbench MPs like Dewsbury’s Paula Sherriff accused him of representing “an out of touch Government at its most self-serving worst”.
And Mr Grayling has the nerve to accuse others of incoherence...