Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the King’s Speech would “fire the starting gun” on the renationalisation of the railways with two pieces of legislation that would put them back into public hands.
Labor’s transport chief is today warning failing rail chiefs that he will rip up their contracts immediately if they don’t back his ideas.
The King’s Speech will “fire the starting gun” on renationalizing the railroads with two pieces of legislation that will put them back in public hands. Great British Railways (GBR) will take over the operation of all lines over the next five years as existing contracts with private firms expire.
However, in an interview with the Mirror, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh says she will not wait to act if companies are making passengers suffer. On Tuesday, she brought the worst-performing operators into the department – and is working with lawyers to see if it is possible to terminate contracts with firms such as Avanti West Coast due to poor performance.
Ms Haigh said: “It’s absolutely something we’re looking at and we’re going through the councils at the moment. Avanti has delivered an appalling performance for its passengers on the West Coast Main Line – serving as shadow transport secretary for two-and-a-half years.” , my opinions on their performance are very well known.
“But they are bound by contract and we have to consider it properly in the round from a legal point of view.
Four rail operators – LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern and Transpennine Express – are being run by the government after franchise deals collapsed.
The Tories awarded Avanti West Coast – owned by FirstGroup and Trenitalia – a nine-year contract from October last year, which can be terminated with three months’ notice from 2026. Reliability was the third worst of any operator in Britain this year. at the end of March, with the equivalent of one in 15 trains (6.9%) canceled according to the Roads and Rail Authority.
A spokesman for Avanti West Coast said: “Today we met with the Secretary of State along with our colleagues from Network Rail to discuss the current challenges on the network. During the meeting, we outlined issues that are unique to us as well as those that affect the entire industry. It was a constructive meeting and we look forward to further discussions on how to make further improvements to the railway in the coming months.”
The new Labor government will outline its plans for next year in the King’s Speech, a lavish ceremony in Parliament where King Charles will explain about 35 bills ministers want to pass. Transport is expected to be the main focus, with a bill to end franchises handed over to private firms after the contract expires and another bill to establish GBR.
Labor is considering options for the scrapped leg of HS2
The Transport Secretary has said she will consider alternatives for the scrapped northern section of HS2 – but the original plan is dead.
The Conservative government abandoned the high-speed rail link from Birmingham to Manchester last year due to delays and ballooning costs.
However, Louise Haigh suggested she would consider calling Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former West Midlands mayor Andy Street earlier this year for privately funded alternatives to increase rail capacity in the region.
Asked if the original plan was dead and whether she was considering those alternatives, Ms Haigh said: “We can’t just withdraw the original plans for HS2 because the money was redistributed under the previous Tory government – and they were massively discredited because they ran obscenely over the cost.”
She continued: “Only the Tories could have spent £60 billion on something and made it worse. So we won’t be highlighting those plans, but of course we will look at all options.”
“We know we will need to invest in infrastructure in the Midlands and the North of England and we are launching a review with all the mayors to look at how we do this.
“This will of course include the use of private funding as it was a complete transgression of the previous government not to look at this with HS2 and require the public purse to pick up every penny of funding.”
Rishi Sunak claimed last year that changes to HS2 would save £36bn – with the money going to alternative road and rail schemes.
But the former prime minister came under fire when some funds were earmarked for London and the south of England.
Ms Haigh revealed she would be cracking down “within days” as she sets up a shadow body to oversee the work while the legislation makes its way through parliament.
She said: “Within days we will be taking a shot at Great British Railways by creating Shadow GBR – bringing together Network Rail, the department and the operator of last resort and appointing a chairman to oversee this organization and start the hard work.
“This is the most radical reconstruction of our railways in the last generation. The King’s Speech will be a clear signal of our intention with transport. We are absolutely committed to moving quickly and making things right.”
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As a self-styled “headliner”, Ms Haigh has vowed to raise standards on the rail and end fraudulent fares. Labor will create a new watchdog for passenger standards, where rail companies will be held responsible for cleanliness and catering, as well as delays and fares.
The proposals also include a best price ticket guarantee, automatic refunds in the event of service delays and digital season tickets across the network. Labor plans will also improve mobile phone reception on trains so users have a 5G signal.
Ms Haigh said: “At the moment people are paying through the nose for a terrible service – and that’s before we even get to the delays and cancellations that GBR will be dealing with as the track and train will be forced to work together.”
Station ticket offices will be protected under the new government after the Tories were forced to drop plans to close 974 counters across the country following a public outcry. Ms Haigh said ticket offices played a key role in ensuring rail users were not ripped off.
“I was in Bristol a few weeks ago and I was talking to the ticket office staff there and they said they had just saved someone £40 on their journey because they went for the wrong type of ticket,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important for them to help people navigate it, especially people who regularly miss the train.”
In her Sheffield Heeley constituency, Ms Haigh said she knows first-hand how the north of England has been held back by failing transport – and her family and friends won’t let her forget it.
“Growing up in Sheffield and living here gives me a real life experience of how bad the traffic can be,” she said. “As a Sheffield MP I represent my friends and family so they will absolutely hold me honest and answer me absolutely.
The Tories “deliberately provoked” the strikes
The Conservative government has decided to launch strike action to divert attention from the dire state of the railways, Louise Haigh has claimed.
Labour’s transport boss has said she believes long-term outages crippling the network can be resolved but the last government failed to act.
Rail unions have launched industrial action in 2022, with train drivers’ union Aslef set to remain locked in a pay dispute for a third summer.
Ms Haigh said: “We all want the dispute to end and what I thought before – but it’s even clearer now – is that the previous government was deliberately provoking and prolonging it.
“I believe there are solutions on the table that can resolve this, hopefully soon. I really think the previous government chose not to pursue those options.”
She added: “I think it was in their interest to blame the unions for the poor performance of the rail, so they wanted the rail unions to go on strike and they didn’t care about the interests of the passengers or the economy.
“It’s really the only explanation I can think of for where we are.
Since taking up the role she has already met with RMT’s Mick Lynch and Aslef’s Mick Whelan – and replaced the negotiating team at the Department for Transport (DfT) to start fresh.
Ms Haigh continued: “The North has been let down time and time again and we’re holding back. I saw a statistic recently that said Rome and Manchester are the same size but Rome is 55% more productive than Manchester because the public transport system that gives people it makes it possible to get out and get to work.”
Impressed by Greater Manchester’s ‘Bee Network’, which links bus, tram, cycle and walking routes, she is considering expanding the model across the country. Mrs Haigh said: “Andy Burnham has blazed a trail in Greater Manchester with the Bee Network, both by bringing buses back into public control, but now he’s building a whole system bringing trains and trams, active travel, bikes into the system. “
Ms Haigh, the youngest ever cabinet minister at 36, said the new top team was “much fresher, younger and more normal”. She said she had been inundated with messages from young women about her colorful hair, adding: “It’s really nice that I feel like I can give women the confidence to do it.”