UK rail industry reaches key political junction
LONDON: Britain’s historic rail industry is destined for the biggest shakeup in decades that could end in renationalisation and significant investment to vastly improve services amid costly fares and delays.
Full state-control of the industry is a distinct possibility should a looming general election triggered by Brexit turmoil result in victory for the main opposition Labour party.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is awaiting the conclusions of a passenger-focused review of the UK’s entire rail sector described by the Conservative government as “the most significant” since the Tories privatised British Rail in the mid-1990s.
“It isn’t good enough that so many commuters spend their mornings staring at a delayed sign at their train platform,” British finance minister Sajid Javid said last week.
Delivering government spending plans for the next year, Javid added that “better transport links across the country will be a crucial part” of rebalancing Britain’s Londoncentric economy.
Johnson has meanwhile ordered a separate review into the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway linking London with other major English cities, but which has been beset by soaring build costs and massive delays.
Both reviews will deliver their findings by the end of the year, by which time Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn could be prime minister.
Full nationalisation of the rail industry that once helped to drive the Industrial Revolution “is undoubtedly a vote winner for Corbyn and Labour”, said Gwilym David Blunt, lecturer in international politics at City, University of London.
While Britain’s rail tracks remain in state hands, the trains are run by mostly private companies enjoying large government subsidies.
“The railways were once a point of pride in this country and now they are absolutely dire compared to the rest of Europe,” Blunt told AFP.
“UK trains are crowded, expensive, often delayed, and of extremely old stock. Voters are angry at receiving little value for money.”
Rail passenger journeys in Britain have hit a record annual high at almost 1.76 billion, fuelled by commuters who have no choice but to take the train to work.
The government’s “root and branch” review of the rail sector, including improvements to freight travel, is chaired by Keith Williams, a former chief executive of British Airways.
Presenting an interim update, Williams noted that UK customer satisfaction with Britain’s train services is at a decade-low.
Williams’ review “could be used to bolster the case for taking the railways back into public hands”, said Blunt.
“However, if the review is pro-private ownership it won’t necessarily stop renationalisation.”
He added that “the most plausible strategy” for Corbyn would be to wait for the franchises running the train routes “to expire and take them back into public ownership”.
Another headache lying ahead is HS2. The Department for Transport last week said that the cost of the project was set to soar by more than 20 billion pounds (US$24 billion, 22 billion euros) to up to 88 billion pounds owing to the complexity of building works. — AFP