DfT dodges the issue on Parliamentary trains

In RAIL 919’s The Fare Dealer, I raised the issue of Parliamentary trains, and in particular Chiltern Railways’ 1055 South Ruislip to West Ealing and 1147 non-stop return to High Wycombe on Mon-Fri.

This ceased running in early 2020, although it continues as an empty stock working for route-knowledge purposes. I don’t know if other Parliamentary trains have been withdrawn, but regardless of that it raises the serious question of: how long can such a service be withdrawn without specific permission?

I took it up with Transport Focus in midNovember, and its ever-helpful Chief Executive Anthony Smith liaised with the Department for Transport, which - despite being prodded at reasonable intervals - took two months to respond.

The DfT began by saying that: “The service has not been operating owing to the extraordinary circumstances resulting from COVID-19 over the past nine months.”

That, of course, doesn’t answer the question at all. It then added: “The Department is planning to review the service later this year when the continued impact of COVID-19 on passenger and staffing levels will hopefully be clearer.’”

So, why does it need reviewing anyway? Did it really take two months for someone to come up with such non-answers to a simple and reasonable question?

Finally, in an act of total irrelevancy, it went on to tell Transport Focus how it’s possible to travel between all the stations served by the Parliamentary train by changing between Great Western Railway (GWR) and London

Underground at Greenford and then into Chiltern Railways services at South Ruislip.

Has anyone at the DfT any idea what Parliamentary services are for? I accept there is an argument for saying that the whole issue should be debated, because some of them really are irrelevant - for example, in keeping a freight chord open for a token passenger service, when nobody has any intention of closing said chord.

However, my original question was that, given the current legislation, for how long can a Parliamentary service be withdrawn without specific permission? The DfT has totally dodged the issue - no doubt because it really hasn’t a clue as to what the answer is.

In the 50th edition of the excellent Avocet (Exmouth) Line Rail Users’ Group newsletter, there was a reference to GWR having reinstated the Sunday half-hourly service at Polsloe Bridge and St James’ Park last December, but that there were no timetables on the stations. GWR told them it was “a DfT decision because of likely changes”.

Some bus companies have been producing printed timetable leaflets and booklets to show the changes made in recent months. They’re allowed to because they are private companies.

Yet the railway industry now has to apply for permission to print station timetables - and then be turned down. Yes, the DfT is even in charge of publicity today.

Is there anyone left in the country who does not realise how much better off we were with British Rail, and how our current industry is under the sort of state control never before seen in history?