Louise Haigh launches Labour’s plan to get Britain moving, fix Britain’s broken railways and put the passenger first
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Tomorrow (Thursday 25th April) Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary,
Louise Haigh, will announce Labour's thorough and detailed roadmap
to establish Great British Railways and get Britain moving.
Labour's plans to get Britain moving are crucial to delivering our
missions for Government by boosting productivity and driving
growth. A growing economy and public services fit for the future
need a modern transport system to support the flow of people and
goods across the country....Request free
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Tomorrow (Thursday 25th April) Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, will announce Labour's thorough and detailed roadmap to establish Great British Railways and get Britain moving. Labour's plans to get Britain moving are crucial to delivering our missions for Government by boosting productivity and driving growth. A growing economy and public services fit for the future need a modern transport system to support the flow of people and goods across the country. Labour will also announce plans to seize on the huge economic potential of rail freight and deliver a new, long-term strategy for train manufacturing, as part of Labour's commitment to a comprehensive industrial strategy. Labour's plans will deliver more certainty for investors and manufacturers to plan long-term for British rail manufacturing and crowd in private investment to stimulate innovation in the sector. This will include a commitment to growing the size of the freight sector through a statutory duty on Great British Railways to enable the growth of rail freight. Labour will seize on the huge economic potential of rail freight. Rail freight already contributes an estimated £2.45 billion to the UK economy,[i] and a single freight train can carry as much as 129 lorries[ii] – reducing the traffic clogging up our roads and bringing down carbon emissions. Speaking at a launch event in central London, Haigh is expected to say that, during its first term, a Labour Government would:
Britain's broken rail network is not delivering: cancellations have soared to record high levels, fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010, and strikes are costing taxpayers £25m for every day they go ahead, whilst taxpayers fork out huge subsidies to pay for trains that are overcrowded, delayed or cancelled. Four of England's rail operators are already being managed via the Department for Transport, through the operator of last resort. Around a quarter of rail journeys were taken on operators in public ownership in Britain in 2022/23.[iii] Labour's detailed plans would deliver a unified and publicly owned rail network, run by the experts to bring down costs for taxpayers and drive-up standards for passengers. Louise Haigh, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, said: “Labour will deliver the biggest overhaul to our railways in a generation. Whilst the Conservatives are content to let Britain's broken railways fail passengers, Labour will deliver root and branch reform. “After years of dysfunction and waste our broken railways are unfit to meet the needs of modern Britain. Passengers and taxpayers alike are being failed, and our economy is being held back. Doing nothing is simply not an option.” “With Labour's bold reforms, a publicly owned railway will be single-mindedly focused on delivering for passengers and will be held to account on delivering reliable, safe, efficient, accessible, affordable and quality services. “Labour's detailed plans will get our railways back on track; driving up standards for passengers, bringing down costs for taxpayers, driving growth and getting Britain moving.” Ends Notes: Full policy document, ‘Getting Britain Moving: Labour's Plan to Fix Britain's Railways' is available on request and will be published on the Labour website on the morning of the 25th April. Labour's Five Missions for Government Labour will ensure that a reliable, safe, efficient, accessible, affordable and quality transport system plays its part in supporting our five national missions for government.
The State of Britain's Broken Railways Britain's broken railways are not delivering for passengers or for taxpayers. Cancellations have soared to record high levels,[iv] constant delays are damaging faith in the rail network,[v] fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010,[vi] and strikes are costing taxpayers £25m for every day they go ahead.[vii] Progress has been held back by the complex mess of today's rail network. For instance, hundreds of people are employed full-time to argue over whose fault delays are;[viii] passengers have to navigate 55 million different ticket options;[ix] and 75 different types of train are in passenger service on today's network.[x] Yet nothing is being done to address the chaos on Britain's railways, as the Tories refuse to bring forward long-delayed rail reforms ahead of the general election.[xi] Labour will deliver a Railways Act for England, Scotland, and Wales to establish Great British Railways and enable the full benefits of a unified railway. Delivering Improvements for Passengers Labour will have six key objectives for rail reforms: Delivering rail services that are reliable, affordable, efficient, quality, accessible, and safe. Labour will merge functions and resources from existing bodies to establish a powerful new passenger watchdog – the Passenger Standards Authority – to independently monitor standards and champion improvement in service performance against a range of measures. Labour's plans will deliver clear improvements for passengers including:
Driving Down Costs for Taxpayers Labour's plans to fold existing private passenger rail contracts into Great British Railways as they expire mean taxpayers will not have to pay a penny in compensation costs to outgoing private operators. Labour's plans will reduce waste, drive up standards for passengers and bring down costs for taxpayers. The Government's analysis in the Williams Review estimated that the savings generated by ending inefficiency and fragmentation on the railways is equivalent to £1.5 billion a year after an initial five-year implementation period.[xii] Labour's plans will go further, and internal analysis suggests significant additional savings could be achieved through public ownership. This includes savings from franchise bidding costs, less duplication of resources and less friction between operators. Empowering Local Leaders Under Labour, national and regional governments and mayors will be empowered to integrate local railways with other transport modes, delivering London-style integrated transport networks across the country. Devolved leaders in Scotland, Wales, and in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have a statutory role in the rail network. National and regional transport bodies will have the ability to agree national and regional rail services with Great British Railways. Open Access Operators Labour's plans to fix Britain's railways are pragmatic. The current model of passenger rail services has clearly failed passengers and taxpayers, but there will still be a role for the private sector on Britain's railways under Labour where it is proven to deliver. Open access operators, like Hull Trains and Lumo, will be able to continue to compete to improve the offer to passengers wherever there is a case that open access adds value and capacity to the network. Supporting Rail Freight Labour will seize on the huge economic potential of rail freight. Rail freight already contributes an estimated £2.45 billion to the UK economy,[xiii] and a single freight train can carry as much as 129 lorries[xiv] – reducing the traffic clogging up our roads and bringing down carbon emissions. Rail freight will remain within the private sector, but Labour will introduce a statutory duty on Great British Railways to promote the use of rail freight, and targets for growing the use of rail freight will be set by the Secretary of State for Transport. Sources: [i] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [ii] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [iii] https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/2207/passenger-rail-usage-jan-mar-2023.pdf [iv] https://www.cityam.com/rail-cancellations-swell-as-figures-reveal-2022-23-worst-year-on-record/ [v] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rail-delay-payout-avanti-figures-b2468634.html [ix] https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/55-million-different-types-train-12497372 [xii] Gov.uk, ‘Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail' (May 2021), p8:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60cb29dde90e0743ae8c29c1/gbr-williams-shapps-plan-for-rail.pdf Quoting efficiencies based on internal unpublished DfT analysis; Table 7223 – Franchised passenger train operator finances by franchise, ORR:https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance/table-7223-franchised-passenger-train-operator-finances-by-franchise-latest-year/ [xiii] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [xiv] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [i] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [ii] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [iii] https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/2207/passenger-rail-usage-jan-mar-2023.pdf [iv] https://www.cityam.com/rail-cancellations-swell-as-figures-reveal-2022-23-worst-year-on-record/ [v] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rail-delay-payout-avanti-figures-b2468634.html [vi] https://news.sky.com/story/rail-fares-to-go-up-by-nearly-5-next-year-department-for-transport-says-13036153 [vii] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/18/rail-strikes-cost-uk-1bn-and-settling-would-have-been-cheaper-minister-admits [viii] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/8393927/Train-firms-hire-300-delay-attribution-officers-to-avoid-paying-compensation.html [ix] https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/55-million-different-types-train-12497372 [x] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60cb29dde90e0743ae8c29c1/gbr-williams-shapps-plan-for-rail.pdf [xi] https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/rail-reforms-uk-trains-general-election-b2448496.html [xii] Gov.uk, ‘Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail' (May 2021), p8: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60cb29dde90e0743ae8c29c1/gbr-williams-shapps-plan-for-rail.pdf Quoting efficiencies based on internal unpublished DfT analysis; Table 7223 – Franchised passenger train operator finances by franchise, ORR:https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance/table-7223-franchised-passenger-train-operator-finances-by-franchise-latest-year/ [xiii] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ [xiv] Deloitte (2021) “Assessing the Value of Rail Freight”, a report for the Rail Delivery Group https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/about-us/publications/12839-2021-04-assessing-the-value-of-rail-freight/ |