Government funding of rail projects set to continue… but so is industrial unrest
Rail projects escaped major cuts in the Government’s Autumn Statement, but negotiations with unions to resolve industrial action in England are at stalemate as new strike dates are announced.
A MUCH more stringent approach to reducing the national funding deficit was revealed in the Autumn Statement published by the Government on November 17, but significant investment in rail has been retained. There was confirmation that HS2 will be built to Manchester, removing speculation it might terminate at Crewe or even Birmingham. As yet, however, there is no clarity as to whether the truncated Eastern Leg to East Midlands Parkway remains a part of the project. A commitment has also been made to continue with East West Rail, where doubts had been expressed about the upgrade of the Bletchley to Bedford section and the new alignment from Bedford to Cambridge, which makes little use of the past formation that has been built over at many locations. Five options were identified to reach Cambridge, and a northerly alignment is favoured that will provide an interchange with the East Coast Main Line at Tempsford (between Sandy and St Neots) and then serve Cambourne (current population 12,000) before joining the Hitchin to Cambridge route via a proposed Cambridge South station. Northern Powerhouse Rail is to revert to the plan that existed before the short-lived Liz Truss Government proposal to reinstate an upgraded electrified route between Liverpool and Hull. Thus NPR will electrify to York rather than Hull without any new line construction to improve access to Bradford. The ‘Restoring your Railway’ funding also looks secure. A recent decision by the DfT to provide funding to supplement money available from the West of England Combined Authority will allow a service to be restored between Portishead and Bristol, while a Strategic Outline Business Case has been submitted to the DfT for plans to reinstate Bere Alston to Tavistock in Devon (see also story on page 10). Campaigners in the East Midlands have also been successful in receiving an offer from Network Rail to evaluate the cost of restoring passenger service on the freight-only route between Leicester and Burtonon-Trent. Known as the Ivanhoe Line, it is a lengthy 31-mile route where four intermediate stations are proposed at Castle Gresley (Swadlincote), Ashbyde-la-Zouch, Coalville and Leicester South, which would stimulate development around the Leicester City King Power football stadium. The target opening date is 2026. So far as future funding is concerned, the industry is waiting for the Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) for Control Period 7, which covers the five years from 2024. There was a very generous settlement for the current Control Period 6 that allocated up to £10 billion for capacity enhancement projects. Publication of the SoFA is expected in January, after which negotiation will take place between Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road to determine the High Level Output Statement. This is a summary of the money required for operations, maintenance and renewals, and priorities for providing additional capacity and route electrification.
Christmas strike action
After the postponement of proposed strike days in October, Network Rail, the train operating companies and the RMT union entered a period of negotiations to address the core issues in the dispute. As well as pay, there is contention over proposals to change working practices and the removal of any threat of compulsory redundancy. By mid-November, there were indications that a basis for a settlement had reached a point where a firm offer could be put to the union membership. However at the last minute, when the offer was on the point of being tabled in writing, the employers were prevented from confirming what had been agreed – believed to be a 9% pay increase over two years – by the DfT. No doubt the cost was regarded by the Government as inflationary and exceeding the funds available to reimburse the train operators holding National Rail Contracts. The result was that the RMT renewed its strike action, covering 40,000 members working for Network Rail and 14 train operating companies, and these were due to take place on December 13/14, 16/17, and January 3/4, 6/7. It was also announced there would be an overtime ban that would cover the Christmas period from December 18 to January 2, when services will already be affected in some areas by engineering work. The union was able to do this as legislation requires a mandate for strike action to be renewed after six months, and in response the membership gave an 91.7% endorsement on a turnout of 70.2% to authorise continued industrial action. A meeting convened with the new Secretary of State Mark Harper on November 24, is reported to have been constructive, but concluded that a settlement was a matter for the employers, who say they have no authority to negotiate. The proxy nature of this behaviour is at best unsatisfactory and at worst negligent, because the cost of disruption in terms of lost revenue and economic disruption has become substantial. As it stands, the Government’s position is that any pay offer over 2% made by the train operating companies it controls must be accompanied by changes in working practices that fund the additional earnings. So unless this can be demonstrated, authority to conclude an agreement will be withheld. Progress to resolve the dispute has been made in Scotland, where RMT members have accepted an offer made by ScotRail that has been funded by the Scottish Government. This follows agreement with ASLEF covering pay and conditions for drivers, which has yet to be reached in England for staff employed by the greater number of train operating companies. It is worth noting that none of the freight operating companies are currently in dispute with ASLEF. The offer by ScotRail for staff represented by RMT was a 5% rise plus an extra £750 for each employee, which was calculated to mean a 7.5% rise for staff such as conductors and ticket examiners and an 8.5% increase for lower-paid workers. As part of the improved deal, the minimum flat-rate pay has been increased to £10.50 per hour and a no compulsory redundancy guarantee has been increased from five to six years. An agreement on rest day working has also been extended to October 31, 2023. Announcing the result of the ballot, the RMT said 67.7% of members who voted opted to accept the offer, which the union had recommended. Despite resolving the disputes with operating staff, ScotRail services will continue to be disrupted as the RMT agreement does not cover Network Rail employees – in particular signallers, who are required at the many signalboxes that control the network.
More Elizabeth Line
Sunday, November 6 marked the next stage of introducing Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) services, with the diversion of trains between Shenfield and Liverpool Street onto the new central section to Paddington. At the same time, Abbey Wood trains – which had previously terminated at Paddington since the first phase of the line opened on May 24 – have now been extended to Heathrow Airport and Reading. The transit time from Heathrow to Farringdon (for the City) is now 40 minutes and a further 11 minutes to Canary Wharf. The final implementation of services operated by the concession holder MTR is planned in May 2023, which will see through running between Great Western stations, Heathrow Airport and Shenfield, with an increase in frequency for the routes served. Further Great Eastern stations can then be reached with a change of platform (for example, at Shenfield) rather than a walk between stations as now. The initial 12 trains per hour using the central section has been enhanced to 22 trains per hour in the peak and 16 per hour during the off-peak. Trains will also run later, with the final Paddington departure at 00.22 rather than 22.58. The full peak service will increase to 24 trains per hour in May 2023.
“The cost of disruption in terms of lost revenue and economic disruption has become substantial”