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Mr. Jenkin: The hon. Gentleman betrays a lack of knowledge about the existing franchise system. The trains are owned by rolling stock companies--finance companies--precisely because the train leases are transferable, so if one franchisee loses a franchise, the rolling stock can be transferred to the new franchisee. It is erroneous to suggest that one needs to extend franchises in order to encourage investment, although if the company has its franchise extended it obviously has a bigger stake in the long-term performance. There is no financial or legal barrier to the transfer of the operation of the leases.
Mr. Taylor: The hon. Gentleman betrays more ignorance of what is happening in practice than I did of
the legislation. The ROSCOs have not been making that investment unless companies have been prepared to underwrite it. The issue is precisely whether the operating company is prepared, either itself or through offering guarantees, to underwrite the investment, and companies do not want to do that when they do not know their franchise extension position and they have no protection.
I am suggesting a solution that would overcome the practical problem, and explaining why the people who originally bought the ROSCOs walked away with enormous profits at the taxpayer's expense. The Government of the day failed to regulate the ROSCOs effectively and prevent that from happening.
We have heard much from Conservative Front Benchers about the increase in the cost of motoring. Between 1974 and 1996 that cost fell in real terms, but over the same period the cost of rail travel went up by nearly 75 per cent. and bus fares rose by nearly 60 per cent. The people who have had a really bad deal are those travelling by train or bus in the past couple of decades.
Companies may well want to increase prices further to provide the enhanced services that are needed. I hope that both the Secretary of State and the regulatory authority will play a robust role in ensuring that that does not happen. The present planned decline in public investment in the railways may have to be reconsidered.
There is serious doubt whether the proposals for cuts in support negotiated by the Conservative Government will allow the less viable lines to keep going. There are ominous signs. In my area, Wales and West Passenger Trains has cut a substantial number of local train services on the branch lines because it is not under a specific obligation to run them.
That has happened in Cornwall and Devon, and similar cuts have happened elsewhere. The companies have not made the investment in increasing passenger numbers that we were originally told they would make; instead, they have simply cut services, decreasing the overall viability of rural lines and putting on pressure for their closure.
The most worrying sign from the Government came when the Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms Jackson), said that the Government do not rule out "bustitution"--the substitution of rail services with buses. That has been a disaster before and it would be a disaster again. It would be terribly short-sighted of the Government to allow the companies to go down that route.
We want clarification on many specific issues, including the relationship between the regulator and the authority; the need for direct accountability; and the ways in which Parliament will scrutinise the authority's workings. I am grateful for the Secretary of State's comments on that a moment ago. I hope that we will have the chance to debate both the annual report and the strategic proposals.
We want clarification on resource allocation and the authority's role in it, as distinct from direct support to the rail operators, which I notice is an issue about which Railtrack is concerned. We are concerned about the safety of users and how the Bill will improve rail services for women, disabled people and pensioners. What role will the authority play in considering the safety aspects of private operation, which the Labour party rightly raised in opposition? The unions have highlighted real concerns about cuts affecting safety. Another important question
has to do with the way that the one-stop-shop public transport information system that the Government have promised will work in practice, and the role that the SRA will play in that.
We believe that the SRA should have responsibility for overseeing the co-ordination of the national timetable. Problems with the timetable mean that passengers are dropped at stations when no train is available for them to complete their journeys. That problem is especially acute when a train run by one operator is late and the operator that runs the connecting service chooses to let its train leave on time to avoid a fine.
Mr. Pickles:
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Taylor:
I cannot, as I have spoken for too long already.
The SRA should also be required to oversee improvements in the rail network. Although the Bill implies that responsibility, much detail is needed to explain how that will happen.
The SRA should play a key role in the renegotiation of minimum passenger service requirements. That may be one of the answers to the problem of maintaining rural lines, although the toughening-up process involved would be difficult.
We believe that the SRA should be empowered to ensure that Railtrack and train operators do not earn excessive profits, and to set targets for the growth in passenger numbers for each franchise. It should also be charged with improving access and safety for all passengers, and with conducting an immediate examination of existing freight-only lines to determine the potential for new passenger services. Also, the SRA should undertake an immediate re-examination of the potential for building new stations, for reopening lines and for developing new ones.
Mr. Clive Efford (Eltham):
I welcome the Bill, and the fact that it will be examined by the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, which has a great deal of expertise in transport matters. Its deliberations and advice will help to improve the Bill considerably.
A strategic approach to all forms of transport, including the railways, is vital if we are to achieve an integrated transport system. Such a system seemed to be a mythical beast under the previous Administration, when investment in rail services was cut. An example of that process from my area is what happened with the channel tunnel rail link, when the previous Conservative Government tried to blight communities stretching from Kent to London.
The reduction in the value of the housing stock meant that the cost of introducing the link was lower. However, even in Kent's leafy suburbs--the strongholds of many Conservative Members--people banded together to oppose the Conservative Government's outrageous approach to providing an essential transport link between one of the Europe's major capitals and the continent. It was left to this Government to pick up the pieces of that failed strategy and to press ahead a project whose benefits we should have enjoyed for years already.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
I was in the House when the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 was passed. At the time, the House was assured that the channel tunnel would be such a wonderful financial success that there would be no need for Government funding for rail links. I disagreed and was one of the minority who voted against that legislation. Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the channel tunnel rail link has not in any sense been a huge financial success, and that all the assurances given at the time have been broken?
Mr. Prescott:
May I say that the contract between France and Britain was a problem that Labour inherited? I opposed the contract when the House dealt with it, so I understand the concerns expressed by the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (Sir T. Taylor). However, we have changed the contract, and all the signs are that the venture is likely to be successful.
Mr. Efford:
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. I should take this chance to point out the approach taken by the French Government towards compensation for people who had to relocate so that the rapid transport link could be built between Paris and the channel tunnel.
Mr. Nick St. Aubyn (Guildford):
Would the hon. Gentleman aid our debate by telling us when, during 40 or more years of nationalised railways, a rail project was delivered by the Government of the day on time and within budget?
Mr. Efford:
We are talking about the provision of public transport, not about whether the channel tunnel rail link should be a public or private service. The Conservative party has promoted privatisation as a panacea for rail problems, but it has proved to be the opposite, as thousands of commuters who travel to and from London every day--often through my constituency--would vouch.
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