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12 Feb 2009 : Column 516WH—continued
“if a full-scale economic downturn were to develop, passenger numbers are unlikely to grow...as projected”.
The Government specified the franchises. The Government specified underlying revenue assumptions. The Government specified underlying new passenger economic assumptions. I have asked the Minister in a question to give me those assumptions. I hope that either by written response or by oral response, we will hear that today. I have also written to the Minister about the process of red lighting and I have been told that that is all too commercially sensitive—but it is hugely important. Are the Government telling us that they are not prepared to allow hon. Members to know what their plans are in the case of an economic downturn in which the underlying economic assumptions and the underlying revenue numbers that they set for franchisees are not met? What are the Minister’s ambitions? What are the Government’s intentions? Does the Minister want to become the controller of the railways? We shall wait to hear with bated breath.
We are today discussing the publication of the White Paper. The transformation of the economic climate is not the only thing that has happened since. Crossrail has been approved. The Government have done a U-turn on electrification and high-speed rail. There have been more failures on the part of Network Rail; I am referring to Christmas 2007-08. The Competition Commission findings have gone against the Government. Fares have increased. The so-called 30-year strategy document has simply not stood the test of time. It will not stand the test of 30 years; it has not stood the test of two years. It was a missed opportunity to introduce credible and workable solutions, which has been highlighted in the Select Committee’s report.
Mr. Truswell: The hon. Gentleman is incredibly generous in giving way. I hope that I am not sailing too close to the wind when I say that his response is basically stating what he feels should be done to implement the recommendations of the report that we are discussing today. To implement the recommendations along the lines that he has suggested, would he, if he was catapulted across the Floor of the House, make more money available to rail? If he cannot give that commitment, will he at least give a commitment that rail would not be subjected to the sorts of cuts that the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) and the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) suggest need to be made across all Departments?
Stephen Hammond: The hon. Gentleman has been listening far too much to his party’s propaganda. I will reiterate what I said a moment ago: we will inherit CP4; that is the position from which we shall have to start.
The so-called 30-year document will not stand the test of time—it has not even stood the test of two years. It was, as the Select Committee said, a missed opportunity.
5.6 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Paul Clark): I welcome your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Nicholas. This has been a very interesting debate. It has featured substantial contributions from many hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber—but particularly on the Government Benches—who have committed themselves to debating what is critical to our transport infrastructure. I congratulate the Select Committee, under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman), on producing the report. Let me assure her and members of the Committee that it is an important contribution to the debate on our network. I have listened with interest to all the requests that have come in for various schemes. I will seek, before the conclusion of the debate, to respond to some of the requests relating to specific parts of the network. However, I want first to respond to the report and to what hon. Members have raised in the debate.
I seriously believe that the 2007 rail White Paper is the most positive statement about the growth of Britain’s railways for 50 years. It sets out firm, costed plans for investment for the next five years, alongside long-term consideration about meeting the challenges 30 years ahead. People have said that we have had a lack of ambition; indeed, the report indicated that. That is not
reflected in what has happened since the report was produced and, indeed, over the past decade. Passenger numbers have grown by about 40 per cent. in the past 10 years. The Government are investing £15 billion between 2009 and 2014 to increase capacity for up to 183 million passengers a year. For the long term, our aim is a rail network that can carry double the current number of passengers.
Between now and 2014, 1,300 extra carriages will come into service. Hon. Members referred to that. Those carriages will go to the areas with the worst overcrowding problems. About 900 of them will be for London and the south-east; 423 of those additional carriages have already been ordered and the new control period has not yet started.
This is a sign of the Government’s determination to press on with investment. Of the 423 carriages that have been ordered, 92 are scheduled for Southern, 217 for London Midland, eight for Chiltern and 106 for Virgin west coast. An invitation to tender is currently out for another 320. Rather than sitting and not getting on with the job, that shows that we are getting on with the job of moving forward.
I recognise the points that have been made because I was before the Select Committee only yesterday. There were discussions about regional investment. It must be recognised that we have to invest immediately where there are serious crowding issues today. I will come to the longer-term plan shortly.
Stephen Hammond: May I ensure that I heard the Minister correctly? Did he say that the 1,300 carriages will be in operation by 2014 or that they will be ordered by 2014?
Paul Clark: I said clearly that they will come into service between now and 2014. Those decisions have been taken on the basis of capacity studies through the regional planning process and the Network Rail route utilisation system. In addition, the Secretary of State made an announcement today about the new express trains. Those will bring benefits across the country of faster journeys and further investment. As was recognised by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith), that programme could bring jobs and security in her constituency and across the country.
Because we are far sighted, we are investing about £5.5 billion in the Thameslink scheme, which will deliver frequency and capacity across London services, bringing more than 1,400 more seats to some of the most congested routes. That will give commuters to the east and west of London direct access to the heart of the capital and 1.5 million more people will be within an hour of London’s business centres.
Dr. Pugh: The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) raised the point about rebalancing the economy eloquently. The Minister seems to be saying that the Government are intent on facilitating more and more people in doing more and more business in London. Is that not an unsustainable objective?
Paul Clark:
I also said that I will move on to the longer-term programme. As part of that we must link towns and cities closer together so that people can travel
between them for business, pleasure and other reasons far more quickly and effectively than is possible today, hence the investment that we have put in to a number of schemes. You would not wish me to speak about road schemes, hard-shoulder running and so on, Sir Nicholas. There is a range of schemes that aim to create a better, more efficient grid, and 14 strategic rail corridors are the priorities in bringing together the towns and cities of our nation so that the balance can be redressed.
Improvements to stations across the network are also under way. The White Paper announced that £150 million will be earmarked to improve about 150 intermediate stations in England and Wales over the next five years. The national stations improvement programme will bring about a noticeable and lasting improvement in the environment of stations, which will benefit passengers. Local delivery groups jointly chaired by Network Rail and the relevant train operator have been set up to focus on the operator’s portfolio of stations and identify candidate stations for funding.
The issue of performance has also been raised. The performance of passenger services continues to improve, as was recognised by a number of hon. Members. Rail punctuality and reliability is at the highest level since the current measure was established seven years ago. That has been achieved through substantial investment and improved joint working across the rail industry. At the same time, we have seen a 40 per cent. increase in the number of passengers utilising rail services. In the last year, 90.8 per cent. of passenger trains arrived on time. The Government have specified that there should be an improvement in reliability to 92.6 per cent. by 2014 as part of our challenging vision. In addition, we are specifying a 25 per cent. reduction in delays of more than 35 minutes.
Improvements due to the development of the west coast main line have been recognised. The £8.9 billion modernisation programme, which was delivered on schedule, has resulted in an improved timetable. The standard London to Birmingham journey time is down to 82 minutes. When I visited Birmingham for discussions with the chamber of commerce and various industry and business representatives, they commented on the difference that that is already making to their lives, businesses and commerciality. The fastest services to Manchester take just over two hours and to Glasgow just over four. The shuttle service every 20 minutes to Birmingham and Manchester is a further step change.
The report—and some Members—referred to the disruption experienced by passengers and freight customers on the west coast main line in early January. That is primarily a matter for Network Rail to address. It is working closely with the Office of Rail Regulation and passenger and freight train operators. Network Rail is investigating the causes of the disruptions. I understand that to date the findings show that the causes are not related to each other or to the recent engineering and enhancement on the route. The report will be published shortly.
The Transport Committee report deals in some detail with the engineering works of new year 2008. Despite the comments of some hon. Members, it is important to be clear that Network Rail is an independent private sector company. It is accountable for its performance against its business plan and to the independent Office
of Rail Regulation for its performance against its licence. The ORR ensures that Network Rail complies with its licence conditions and it takes enforcement action in the event of a breach. Hon. Members will be aware that the ORR imposed a £14 million fine on Network Rail in response to the new year 2008 overruns.
From the contributions this afternoon and the work in the Department, I understand that since new year 2008, Network Rail has made progress in improving its procedures for the management and delivery of engineering works. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) recognised that there had been improvements.
The Chairman of the Select Committee raised the issue of regulation and whether Network Rail has improved. We believe that the communication between operating companies has improved. The works undertaken since new year 2008 on the bank holidays in May and August and over Christmas and the new year have run on time and without incident. As I have said, it is for the Office of Rail Regulation to ensure that Network Rail complies with its licence conditions.
A number of hon. Members referred to what might happen as a result of the current economic downturn. A prolonged economic downturn is bound to affect passenger numbers, but because of previous growth and investment in the rail industry we believe that it will remain competitive in these challenging circumstances. However, under the current regulatory system, the risks and rewards in the rail industry are shared between the train operators and the Government. Most franchises are set up in such a way as to ensure that operators are supported during periods of economic downturn and, in turn, that they share their profits with the Government in times of strong economic growth.
At the end of the day, in terms of investment, structure and charges, it is right that the balance be met from only two sources, one being the taxpayer and the other being the fare payer. Those who suggest that all fares should be substantially reduced without saying categorically where the money would come from to subsidise the fare package are therefore being uncharitable. I am aware that the issue has been raised recently as a result of the fare changes introduced earlier this year.
Jeremy Corbyn: The Minister must be concerned that a number of train operating companies are considering cutting staff, and that Network Rail may cut maintenance and safety work. Surely that is of great concern, particularly as the companies are paying out large dividends to their shareholders.
Paul Clark: Of course I am concerned. Indeed, maintenance and the achievements that have been arrived at on many of the networks, with greater reliability and better performance, have been the result of investment in maintenance services that did not exist in the past. I know that is the case in my neck of the woods.
Various stories have circulated about train operators, but I am not in a position to name those that might be on a red light, as was suggested. However, a monitoring system operates between the Department for Transport and the train operating companies to ensure that franchise agreements are being met and that critical indicators on performance and safety are being met, exactly along the lines that hon. Members would recognise.
Mr. Martlew: I do not want to touch on the companies that are asking for extra money, but am I not correct in saying that for a small penalty they can hand the keys back to the Government if they start to lose money?
Paul Clark: The franchises are set up so that they do not penalise the travelling public, as happened in the south-east when Connex gave back the keys. In that case, of course, we asked the company to do so because the service was not being met. Costs are obviously involved, but the company has to provide a bond at the start of the franchise that would cover the costs of the administrative process involved in handing back the keys.
Stephen Hammond: Will the Minister place in the Library a copy of the criteria under which a red light is indicated?
Paul Clark: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that such information would be commercially sensitive. It would therefore be difficult to do as he asks.
The question of electrification was raised. In the White Paper, the Government said that we were keeping the case for further electrification under review. We are doing just that. Electrification makes sense on busier routes, where the high capital cost of installing electrification can be offset by the ongoing savings of running electric trains. That is why our initial focus has been on Midland Mainline and Great Western. On 15 January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that a decision on electrification would be made later this year. Indeed, as part of that process, Network Rail is due to publish its findings in March.
Mrs. Ellman: I am pleased to hear that there will be progress on electrification, but will my hon. Friend indicate the exact process by which it will happen, and which schemes will go ahead first?
Paul Clark: In order to ensure the best route utilisation, a process is ongoing to assess where the heaviest demand exists. That will be part of the process. In addition, there will be technical requirements on feasibility and, following on from that, the cost.
High-speed lines have been mentioned by many hon. Members. I take on board what was said by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough about the electrification of the trans-Pennine route, and I recognise the passion with which she spoke. We announced that we will be taking forward High Speed 2, a dedicated rail link. We shall study the options for new lines. Last October, we formed the national network strategy group, which is chaired by my noble Friend, Lord Adonis; it is making progress and will report. Indications are that London to the west midlands will be in the initial stages; but, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has indicated, such high-speed routes could link other towns and cities—and major conurbations in the north, which are equally important.
Dr. Pugh: To a certain extent, the way in which the Minister has responded to the debate shows a colonial mindset in the Department for Transport. We are asked to look at a picture in which London is getting 800 trains and the rest of the country is getting 400. The Minister responds by pointing out how easy it is, and how much quicker, to get to London; but he does not say how quickly one can get around a region, how easily freight can be moved or how easy it will be to communicate between regional centres. The Department for Transport does not seem to be getting the point.
Paul Clark: We have said how easy it will be to get to London; equally, it will be quicker to reach Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield or wherever. I recognise what has been said about the links between the cities; that is why we have the 14 strategic corridors.
I will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) about Manchester Victoria and the Salford stations. I am delighted that my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) has welcomed the development of the Swindon and Kemble line. The subject of ticket offices was raised by the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond). He will be aware of the ticketing settlement agreement, which takes account of a number of factors.
Stephen Hammond: Will the Minister give way?
Paul Clark: No, I will not give way. As for the reopening of lines, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn), there are various mechanisms for that.
5.30 pm
Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(11)).
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