No state railway – so what Next?
Labour’s election failure means no re-nationalisation for the big railway, so let’s peer into the steam railtour crystal ball…
It’s late 2029, Steam railway has just celebrated Its 50th anniversary… these are some of sr630’s headlines
As Tornado sidled towards Peterborough’s Platform 1 on the evening of December 14, three lines over, a ‘non-stop’ roared north on the through road.
Nothing strange about that. Except – it was for the last time, for the Harrogate service whizzing out of the darkness from King’s Cross was a High Speed Train, just one day before the ‘Intercity 125’ left traffic with today’s LNER.
There’s an irony somewhere in that the rolling stock in top line service was actually three or four times older than the ‘plaything’ on its RTC London-York and return ‘Christmas White Rose’. But the real point is more profound. As time continues to pass, what place can steam reasonably expect on a changing railway?
Those HSTs that have now been replaced by Hitachi ‘Azumas’ have served here for nearly 42 years – way more than the 28 in total of the ‘A4s’ (or the 18 of the ‘A1s’). And between then and now, there were the ‘Deltics’ too. The last ‘A4’-hauled ‘Elizabethan’ was in September 1961… now nearly SIXTY years ago. Generations of railway people have come and gone since.
So what next? I don’t just mean straight away – though it seems nationalisation is, at least for now, off the agenda after Labour’s recent General Election drubbing. Instead, a government review may recommend a return to the ‘guiding mind’ of a central body, while keeping private operators. That though says nothing about wider pressures… Coal? Paths? Volunteers…?
So, having been denied a crystal ball for SR500, now let me take you forward a decade. It’s late 2029, Steam Railway has just celebrated its 50th anniversary, 1968 is 61 years ago, and these are some of SR630’s headlines… (Not to be taken too seriously…)
●● Organisers are hoping to put on a 70th anniversary run marking the end of the steam ‘Elizabethan’ in 2031. Large chunks of the East Coast Main Line now have European Train Control System in-cab signalling and other routes are receiving it too – but fitment to certain engines has taken place under ‘Network Change’.
●● High Speed 2 construction is still ongoing, as is that for Crossrail 2 and – a legacy of the outgoing Conservative government – Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines. Although ‘open access’ survives in principle, the disruption and congestion caused by the work means many routes are effectively off-limits. They include the Settle-Carlisle, now being electrified as a diversionary route for the West Coast Main Line.
●● Outside-cylinder GWR engines such as ‘Castles’ are increasingly frustrated by gauging problems as the railway seeks to meet new rules for step-free access to trains by bringing platforms closer to the rails. Permitted lines include Birmingham Stratford, the Golden Valley and Bristol Paignton, though promoters have said it’s “doubtful” there’s enough demand for South Devon trains since the scenic sea wall section was strengthened, widened and had rock shelter ‘tunnels’ added.
●● The A1 Trust has announced it is to build a new ‘A3’ rather than the previously favoured ‘V2’. It follows confirmation by the (National) Railway Museum that Flying Scotsman will be statically displayed on York’s turntable from 2032.
●● Debate continues around whether to fit live camera feed equipment to engines and to pipe exhaust sounds into the carriages, after Mk 1 coaches had their windows sealed at the behest of the Office of Rail and Road.
●● Britain’s steam operators – which include Canadian Pacific after Britain’s trade deal with North America – are debating how to deliver the joint crew training programme called for by safety body RSSB the previous year.
●● Charter numbers have settled at around 100 per year – or two a week – a figure that does not include the ‘Jacobite’. The market is said to be “stable” – but it’s a long way from the glory days of 1,000 trips annually. Of today’s trains, only a handful are directly aimed at gricers “because the demand simply isn’t there.”
●● Climate taxes are to add £50 to fares next year as a result of the new coalition deal agreed between Labour and the Green party.
It is a ‘double whammy’, as the coal price has already risen more than 30% in the last two years.
●● Locomotive Services Ltd has asked Swiss experts DLM how to improve efficiency without spoiling locomotives’ looks. Other promoters are increasingly limiting the distances covered by tours to short hops – and not only the steam legs, since heritage diesels are subject to the climate tax too.
●● Costs have also been rising due to a need to hire support crews. The problem has been growing for years, but came to a head after the Office of Rail and Road warned of the increasing age of volunteers.
●● The RSSB says it is looking to standardise
locomotive maintenance regimes, and “wants to move away from running one-off engines.”
An initial plan – described as “wholly unacceptable” within the movement – suggested sticking only to rebuilt Bulleid ‘Pacifics’, ‘A4s’, and ‘Black Fives’. The current main line fleet hovers around a dozen locomotives, down from around double that a decade or so ago.
●● The ‘Jacobite’ continues its growth and now runs year-round after Scottish government talk of nationalising it was dropped. Instead, Holyrood has agreed to pay the costs of the new climate tax on the grounds the Mallaig trains are “essential to the West Highland economy”.
Realistic? Fantastical? Will there even still be a movement as we know it…?
Take your pick.