1. Introduction
1. The former Transport Sub-committee of the Transport, Local
Government and the Regions Committee began its inquiry into Railways
in the North of England in June 2002. The inquiry was unfortunately
interrupted by the reorganisation of Select Committees to reflect
changes in the machinery of Government in July 2002. The Transport,
Local Government and the Regions Committee and its Sub-committees
were replaced with two separate Committees shadowing the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department for Transport.
The Transport Committee was unable to begin taking evidence until
October last year. Our completion of this inquiry has been delayed
by major reports on Urban Congestion Schemes[1]
and Multi-Modal Studies[2] and
evidence gathering on further topics, but our predecessors' work
uncovered issues which we consider too important to be left unfinished.
There have also been recent developments which we felt should be
taken into account.[3]
2. In the course of the inquiry the Transport Sub-committee
took oral evidence from Arriva Trains Northern, Virgin Rail Group,
and GNER; the Passenger Transport Executive Group, and Railtrack;
and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), National Union
of Maritime Transport Workers (RMT) and Association of Locomotive
Engine Firemen (ASLEF); the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), the
North Eastern and North Western England Rail Passenger Committees;
and the Department for Transport. The Sub-committee also visited
York and Leeds where they held discussions with train operating
companies and with Railtrack. Since October, the Transport Committee
has taken evidence from the Chairman of the SRA twice on wider
matters than Railways in the North of England, and has also taken
evidence on Overcrowding in Public Transport, some of which was
useful in drawing up this report. We are very grateful to all
those who gave evidence in this inquiry.
3. In this work we have taken 'Railways in the North of England'
to be principally those rail services which fall within the North
West, the North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber regions. The
routes concerned are primarily described by the SRA as North West
Routes and North East, Yorkshire and the Humber Routes. The North
of England is also served by important intercity routes on the
East and West Coast Main Lines and by Cross Country Routes. This
report is concerned with all rail services servicing the North
of England, and is not confined to regional services.
Context
4. The 10 Year Plan set out policies and targets for "safeguarding
the environment and ... developing an integrated transport policy
to tackle the problems of congestion and pollution".[4]
It said:
"Our aims are to increase the use of the railway by passengers
and freight, to provide new capacity to meet demand, and to improve
the quality of service to customers, while reducing most currently
regulated fares in real terms. A large expansion of rail services
will make an important contribution to reducing future levels
of congestion on the roads".[5]
5. The 10 Year Plan and its revision set out targets for transport,
which were revisited as part of the process leading to the 2002
spending review. The target most directly related to this inquiry
is:
- · "Secure improvement in rail punctuality
and reliability with a 50% increase in rail use in Great Britain
from 2000 levels by 2010".[
6]
Two other targets may also be affected by the success or failure
of the rail network:
- "Reduce congestion on the inter-urban trunk
road network and in large urban areas in England below 2000
levels by 2010;
- Improve air quality".[
7]
6. In addition, the SRA has been given goals to secure growth
of 80% in freight traffic (measured in freight tonne kms) over
the 10 Year Plan period.
7. National targets, however, can only be achieved by a series
of actions at local level. Our inquiry into Railways in the North
of England suggests that the contribution rail can make to local
travel, in particular, in this area, has been held back because
of reluctance to invest the sums needed in the infrastructure,
a lack of strategic grip from the SRA, a reluctance to consult
local partners about services needed and a depressing tendency
to meet an increase in demand for rail with concern rather than
delight.
8. These problems are not confined to services in the North
of England; we expect that we would find similar problems if we
investigated many, if not all, regional services. But the North
is a complex operating environment. It has to serve two clusters
of relatively closely linked conurbations, major cities such as
York and Newcastle, as well as important local centres with large
rural hinterlands such as Barrow or Carlisle. Rail has a key part
to play in 'joined up government' in the North; we are concerned
that it is not being developed to its full potential.
1 Transport Committee, First Report
of Session 2002-03, Urban Charging Schemes, HC 390-I. Back
2 Transport Committee, Third
Report of Session 2002-03, Jam Tomorrow?: The Multi Modal Study
Investment Plans, HC 38-I. Back
3 The Members of the former Transport
Sub-committee of the Transport, Local Government and the Regions
Committee were as follows: Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody MP (Chairman), Andrew
Bennett MP, Mr Gregory Campbell MP, Mr Brian H. Donohoe MP, Mrs
Louise Ellman MP, Chris Grayling MP, Helen Jackson MP, Miss Anne
McIntosh MP, Mr Bill O'Brien MP, Dr John Pugh MP, Mr George Stevenson
MP. Back
4
Transport 2010: The 10 Year Plan, July 2000 p 5. Back
5 ibid, p 42. Back
6 Delivering better transport:
Progress Report, December 2000, pp 160-161. Back
7 Ibid, pp 160-161. Back
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