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Labour Conference: Let’s invest to close the north-south rail divide

Labour needs to modernise the north’s Cindarella services and not shy from nationalising the network, says LINDA RIORDAN

The last 15-20 years have been somewhat of a paradox for rail policy in the north with a failed privatisation, lack of investment in new trains and slow journey times. Yet passenger numbers have increased considerably. 

Just imagine what would have happened with some investment. I don’t want to go through the old public v private arguments about our rail network. It is clear that shareholders, not passengers, have benefited from the sell-off. 

However, what the Labour Party needs to do is clearly set out its agenda for rail after 2015 if we are elected back into government next May. There needs to be a radical approach in three key areas.

 

Rolling stock

Never has the north-south divide been starker. A journey out of most London stations sees modern trains, quicker journeys and plenty of carriages. 

Yet in some northern areas like Halifax we are still stuck with rolling stock from 30 years ago. There urgently needs to be a timetable for action to remove the dreaded 1980s pacer unit fleets from our network. For good. 

They were seen as past it 15 years ago but they are still omnipresent on many lines and are a stark reminder of the failed rail policies since privatisation under John Major. 

The recent increase in ticket prices underlines the anomaly at the heart of the current system. People are paying more and the services are getting worse. 

Commuters struggle to find a seat, journey times to Leeds are over 30 minutes, including a crawl from Bradford, and the trains are reminiscent of the last century. 

A programme of investment funded through the Department for Transport needs to be Labour’s priority for the starved northern commuter lines from day one. 

The government’s recent panicky plans for the north, HS3 for example, were short-term policies designed to sway marginal seats before next May. 

They have done nothing to address replacing outdated rolling stock. 

For many of my constituents who have never had high-speed anything, Labour needs to be bold and invest in new trains from day one.

I would like to see some radical approaches to ticketing. Too many people are forced to stand for long-distance journeys. It isn’t good enough. Anyone forced to stand for longer than an hour should be reimbursed at least half of their fare. That would soon get the train operators looking at capacity issues. 

Also, the recent ticket increases were at the behest of the Department for Transport, forcing many people in towns like Halifax to miss out on off-peak discounts. 

Why? Well rather than invest in new capacity they try to price a few people off the rail network and ease the congestion on commuter trains. It is a short-term fix, not a long-term strategy.

 

Reopen new lines

The future of integrated transport should have rail at its heart. A Labour government should introduce a radical programme for reopening lines, particularly in northern regions. 

It would boost the economy, create jobs and provide much-needed links between key regional towns and cities. It would also get cars off the road and provide an integrated approach to travel in and around key hubs. 

It is crazy that no direct link exists between York and Hull. Why shouldn’t the key commuter route between Leeds and Wetherby reopen? 

Other lines in North Yorkshire could easily return to the main line, providing much-needed summer revenue and helping the tourist industry. Labour’s rail policy should be looking at options to reopen closed lines now.

 

Open-access operators

Towards the back end of British Rail numerous key links between northern areas and London were axed. These included Aberystwyth, Blackpool, Shrewsbury, Hull and others. 

Some, successfully, have returned thanks to open-access operators purchasing routes through the rail regulator. 

There is a direct rail link from Halifax, which has fully justified being on the main-line map. Labour needs to explore developing more links between northern areas and the south. Why aren’t there more direct trains from Harrogate to London? Shouldn’t Scarborough have a link to the capital? 

Whatever happens in Scotland, there is little doubt that the campaign for northern regional government will gain more support. 

We need to be closer to the south and vice versa. Rail policy will be at the heart of ensuring the northern economy is a regional powerhouse in the coming century.

Finally, we shouldn’t shy away from nationalisation. We should embrace it. East Coast Trains has flourished in public hands. The privatisation of rail was purely ideological. It hasn’t made for a rail network that is any better. 

Passenger number increases have happened despite, not because of, the fragmented system. Yes, many good things have happened to our rail network over the last decade and a half. There is so much more that could be achieved and a truly radical government would ensure all the levers to influence rail policy are at its disposal. 

There are some challenging times ahead for rail policy. However, for those who still shudder at the Beeching axe, it would be heartening to see everything he stood for repudiated through a programme of investment in track, trains and jobs. 

We need a Labour government for that to happen and one which is committed to making the 21st century a golden age for our railways.

 

Linda Riordan is Labour and Co-op MP for Halifax

 

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