This Guardian article about the ‘here-to-stay’ above-inflation rail fare increases raises some important issues about how the Government intend to tackle the capacity problems on the rail network in Britain. Statements about the way forward for the railways will come in the High Level Output Statement (HLOS). The two major projects for consideration are a revamp for Birmingham New Street and an updating of the ThamesLink route through London. It is also likely to include the plan for CrossRail.
All these are congestion issues that need to be addressed. However much I find it distasteful at how much attention London rail users receive compared with the paucity of attention given to regional rail users, I see how their needs have overshadowed those of others (something to do with few people generating lots of money).
However, the only way the benefit of these projects will be felt into the future is if they form the ideological basis for rehauling the railways across the country, opening up new lines, bringing freigh lines to passenger standard, and reintroducing older disused lines with proper funding. London does not have to be Britain’s only major financial centre. Connecting other centres together more effectively will improve the quality of life for workers and their families and reduce the need to travel for hours to and from the capital.
Relieving congestion in London and Birmingham will do nothing to get people using the railways elsewhere. Why are bypasses still being considered, centrally funded and built when it is such a well-known fact that their effectiveness is merely a band-aid on a knife-wound? Why are rail users expected to pay for improvements on the railways and trains with above-inflation fare increases when motorists are not expected to contribute to their grossly larger negative impact on the environment and communities? Why was road pricing shelved? Why can’t we all pay more for the petrol we use so that the funds generated can go to creating a rail network which works across the country and connects the most deprived and remote areas of people to jobs and leisure?
We can all help make it so by maintaining pressure on ministers, MPs, councillors, train operators and potential rail commuters to see rail improvements as the only viable solution to road congestion and environmental sustainability.
Quite right.
This government is horribly London-centric. The DfT allowed FGW to increase supossedly government regulated fares in the SW by 13%, whilst those in London were capped at 4%. All the money on train refurbishment is spend on the London lines. Why in this age of computer-communication does every business have to be in London. Increasing the quality of transport links elsewhere in the country would be a big step in encouraging employers to move their businesses to other parts of the country.
This is another thing that will need a cultural shift. If at least some large finance centres moved away from London, it would make a very big difference. Transport links would have to be improved so foreign businessmen and women could come to the UK and do their business as easily in Swindon, say, as London.