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TRAVEL: Rail passenger journeys have seen the biggest fall on record, new figures show, as concerns deepen for one of the region’s train operators.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said the number of trips made on Britain’s rail network fell by an “unprecedented” 51 million to 394 million in the first three months of the year.
RAIL PASSENGER journeys have seen the biggest fall on record, new figures show, as concerns deepen for one of the region’s train operators.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said the number of trips made on Britain’s rail network fell by an “unprecedented” 51 million to 394 million in the first three months of the year.
It came as a Hull MP said there was a “real danger” that Hull and East Yorkshire’s direct link to London could be set back 20 years, because of a lack of government support.
The Department for Transport is financially supporting franchised rail operators to keep services running, despite the sharp drop in revenue from fares.
However, as an open access operator reliant on ticket sales, Hull Trains has not had the help it needs to restart services under the new social distancing regime, politicians say.
Hull North MP Dame Diana Johnson said the city’s three MPs wrote to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on May 18 seeking answers about the operator’s future. She said: “In response, on June 3 we received an evasive non-answer from another more junior Minister.
“Hull Trains are in a Catch 22 situation. They cannot restart services, meeting current social distancing requirements, without some of the Government assistance that has already been provided to enable franchised rail operators to restart services.
“These are exceptional times. Without Government action, the Humber would sustain a serious blow to economic regeneration at a time when Transport for London is receiving a £1.6bn state bail-out.”
The ORR said the 11.4 per cent fall in journeys was the largest quarterly fall on record and could be “attributed almost entirely” to passengers avoiding non-essential travel. Passengers were advised by the Government to avoid unnecessary travel on March 16, with “stay at home” guidance issued a week later. Hull Trains suspended services on March 30, saying they were not financially viable.
Rail services were ramped up in mid-May from about 50 per cent of the standard timetable to 70 per cent, as coronavirus travel restrictions were relaxed. To allow
We received an evasive nonanswer from another more junior Minister. Hull North MP Dame Diana Johnson after writing to the Transport Secretary.
social distancing, numbers allowed to travel have been cut to as little as 10 per cent of normal levels and passengers are advised not to use public transport.
Rail Minister Chris HeatonHarris said: “This unprecedented fall in usage, not seen on our railways in more than 25 years, shows the dedication of the British public in rightly following the Government guidance to stay at home and protect the NHS as the virus took hold in March.
“Our absolute focus right now is on working with industry to restore normal service levels to provide more space for social distancing, as well as to deliver increased reliability as we build out of Covid-19.”
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said a national plan for rail recovery was needed. General secretary Mick Cash said the privatised railway system had not been capable of delivering objectives including affordable fares and reliable journeys, and urged the Government to “ditch its ideological objection to public ownership”.
On Hull Trains, a DfT spokesman said it was working with the operator and parent company First Trains “to discuss the full range of regulatory and Government support available and are keen to see them return to the network as soon as conditions permit”.