RAILWAYS have perhaps never dominated the national news as much as they have in recent times.
Industrial action, the future of factories in this country, the opening of the Elizabeth Line, the construction of High Speed 2, the cancellation of HS2 north of the Midlands, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the constant stream of news regarding delays have put the railway higher and higher on the news agenda.
Rail ministers and their opposition counterparts are vocal on social media, particularly on X, formerly known as Twitter, where claim and counter claims are made. Wild accusations from social media users are thrown towards the ministers, but likewise, some of the suggestions from the politicians also fail basic levels of scrutiny.
Against that backdrop has been Labour’s constant calling for railways to be taken in to public ownership. Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh has led these calls, but when repeatedly asked by railway experts and commentators, and editor of Rail Express, on the social media platform, she has failed to reply.
Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper is quick to suggest that it is operators who make the decision regarding ordering trains, yet it is Rail Minister Huw Merriman who has been writing to the industry regarding new train orders. It is the DfT that requested operators reduce costs which has resulted in High Speed Trains being withdrawn by CrossCountry and Great Western Railway and starting new careers abroad. They have left behind short-formed or overcrowded trains. Or, in many instances, both!
It was May 2021, when the much-hyped Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail was published. This, it was said, would detail the plans for rail reform and was commissioned off the back of the May 2018 timetable mayhem. Yet three years later, although Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) has been created, there has been much talk but precious little action towards the reform. Now, with an election on the horizon, the railways are in the headlines and Labour decided, on April 25, to release its plans, entitled Getting Britain Moving: Labour’s plan to fix Britain’s railways.
In a statement, the opposition party said: “Britain’s railways should be a source of pride, not exasperation. As the country which created the railways, they are an iconic part of our heritage, and have played an essential role in enabling people to
