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June 29, 2005
Trains
The small Railtrack shareholders are finally having their day in court, claiming that Stephen Byers (then Transport Minister) deliberately forced Railtrack into administration and then attempted to cover up the true scale of his involvement.The Guardian - The former transport secretary, Stephen Byers, was accused in the high court yesterday of "targeted malice" against Railtrack shareholders as he sought to renationalise the company without compensation, and of then lying to cover up his actions.
In the biggest class action case heard in Britain some 48,820 Railtrack shareholders claim they are the victims of "misfeasance in public office" and that their human rights have been infringed.
Given Byers' poor performance as a government minister, I find the shareholders claims all too plausible, though it is for the court to decide.
One of the promises made at the time was that the winding up of Railtrack marked the beginning of a new era in rail transport in this country. Yet to be honest, nothing has fundamentally changed. The system is still stuck in a strange, muddy no-mans land, neither nationalised nor privatised, but rather a flawed mixture of both.
A classic illustration of this is the 9 Car Meridians that Midland Mainline (MML) wanted to use to run express services from Leeds to London via Sheffield, Derby and the East Midlands. Following the correct procedures, MML went to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) who then approved the aquisition of these marvels of modern rail transport.
Now in the tangled mess that is the current railway system, MML asked the SRA to approve the aquisition of 16 4 car Meridians and 7 9 car Meridians from Bombardier at a total cost of over £400m. Once authorisation was granted, HSBC (yup the bank) purchased the trains in order to lease them to MML (see, told you this was tangled).
Then the SRA changed its mind. Realising that GNER already runs an express service from Leeds to London, it decided not to grant MML the right to run its own service via a different route. So much for competition between privatised companies. So there was no longer any need for the 9 car sets, all of which have thus spent the last 12 months sitting idle in sidings rather than transporting passengers.
Meanwhile the various Train Operating Companies (TOCs) have been pouring money into marketing their improved trains and services to such a degree that passenger numbers are expected to rise by nearly 30% over the next 10 years. In fact the pressure on the network is increasing so quickly that there is now talk of introducing a form of congestion charge for rail passengers on peak trains.
The Telegraph - Rail passengers face a congestion charge-style hike in rush-hour ticket prices, it has been revealed.
Rail companies are considering the option as part of moves to combat an expected rise of up to 28 per cent in customer numbers over the next 10 years.
Now Alistair Darling has come out fighting, claiming that there is no intention of introducing congestion charges for rail users.
ePolitix - Alistair Darling has ruled out congestion charging on the railways, telling MPs he "does not believe it is the right thing to do".
Instead Darling stated that what was needed was more imagination.
ePolitix - "What is needed there is more imagination, longer trains, and greater use of double decker trains that are common place in parts of Europe" he said.
"Over a billion people were carried by rail last year. If this growth carries on, there will be capacity problems."
Now imagination is fine, but double decker trains are not a solution, especially in London and the South East, unless this government is going to spend billions of pounds on raising bridges and other infrastucture changes necessary.
But longer trains are a viable alternative. Which makes the situation where brand new trains are languishing in a siding seem like an act which lies somewhere between gross incompetance and criminal waste.
There again, are we really surprised. After 8 years in government, New Labour has repeatedly failed to address the botched privatisation of the railways. And that is why, in spite of an urge to say tough to the small Railtrack investors who lost out on easy gains, I do hope that they take Byers to the cleaners. With the road network getting ever more congested, railways are an integral part of the solution. Maybe, just maybe if the government loses this case they might wake up and start to act.
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Posted by Clive on June 29, 2005 9:48 PM in the category Old Stuff