Harper: operators must break rest day dependence
Northern England’s rail industry “is not set up to deliver a modern reliable service, and we need both short-term and long-term measures to address this”, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has told Parliament.
His comments on December 13 followed a meeting with Northern mayors, and weeks of widespread cancellations and delays affecting Northern, TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast.
Office of Rail and Road statistics show that for the four-week period to November 12, only 33% of AWC services were within a minute of their booked time at stations, with TPE at 46% and Northern at 48%.
In his written statement, Harper said that solving the problem “means not having fragile rest day working agreements, and breaking the railway’s dependence on rest day working altogether”.
Harper’s comments came shortly after AWC launched a revised timetable from December 11 which aims to deliver 1,789 services each week - a 40% increase. Manchester returns to three trains per hour to and from London, with services between London and Birmingham every 30 minutes, and a third service per hour during busy periods.
“We know in recent months our customers have not been getting the service they deserve,” said AWC Executive Director of Operations and Safety Barry Milsom.
Apologising for the “enormous amount of frustration and inconvenience this has caused”, he added: “Over the last few months, our sole focus has been to do everything we can to return to a more resilient operation which delivers more services for our customers and communities.
“This timetable is based on a robust and sustainable roster for our staff, achieved by working with our people and the unions. It provides a better working pattern for staff, and our customers will benefit from more trains, greater connectivity and tickets on sale much earlier. Crucially, the new timetable is not dependent on overtime.”
However, Labour has called on the Government to impose a binding remedial plan on “Avanti West Coast and TPE… to restore services, with clear penalties including withdrawal of the contract”.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “A lost decade of Conservative failure has left the country with second-rate infrastructure and rail services in crisis, holding the economy back.
“It’s utterly absurd that millions cannot rely on the train to get to work, and flies in the face of countless promises made by the Tories to connect our towns and cities.
“Enough is enough - it is time for ministers to stop rewarding abject failure and deliver a clear plan to tackle this chaos.”
Responding to the punctuality figures, a Rail Delivery Group spokesman said that 2022 “has seen a national rail dispute and extreme weather challenges, ranging from three named storms
and flooding to heatwaves where temperatures peaked above 40°.
“It is also important to consider wider data. For example, between May 1 to October 15, more than 87% of trains arrived within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time on commuter and regional routes and ten minutes for longdistance services.”