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NEWS


‘Tackling the unions’ key to McNulty savings – Souter


The rail industry will fail to imple- ment Sir Roy McNulty’s cost- saving proposals unless it can counter resistance from rail unions, according to Stagecoach chief ex- ecutive Sir Brian Souter.


He told the Financial Times: “If you used bus company practices on the railways, you’d have a 15% saving on labour costs. At the moment there is no incentive for train operators to deal with these issues. But productivity improve- ments need to happen.”


Sir Brian said most of the neces- sary savings could be achieved by bringing the shift patterns of railway workers in line with train timetables, but said Government would need to step in to do this, and would have to be “very committed” to do it, as current working practices “have been there for years”.


The RMT union has pledged to campaign against the McNulty reforms, which it says will cut the living standards of railway workers.


Electrification to Weston ruled out by DfT


The West of England Partnership will continue to lobby the Govern- ment to ensure electrification can be extended from Bristol to Wes- ton-super-Mare in the future.


The proposal so far has been turned down on grounds of value- for-money, as has the section of the Great Western Main Line from Cardiff to Swansea.


North Somerset Council’s deputy leader Cllr Elfan Ap Rees, who has responsibility for transport issues, told RTM: “Although electrification of the line to Weston-super-Mare isn’t included in the initial schemes, we are looking to ensure that the infrastructure can be extended to Weston at a future date.


“In the meantime, we are assured that dual hybrid trains will be used on the Weston to Paddington line that are capable of running on both electric power or diesel, so that we still maintain a through service.”


8 | rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 11


The chairman of Network Rail has said the rail industry is


already


seeing some of the reforms rec- ommended in the McNulty value for money review.


Rick Haythornthwaite made his comments during a speech at the Railtex 2011 exhibition in Lon- don in June, stating that NR had not waited until the publication of Sir Roy McNulty’s report before choosing to act.


Already, he advised, NR had “be- gun negotiations with some of the train operators about setting up commercial alliancing arrange- ments where capacity enhancing schemes can be unlocked and management can be co-ordinated


everyone we speak to that that is understood.


© Paul Bigland


far better to reduce costs and to share benefits.”


He added: “My hope is that many of you really are beginning to see [changes] impacting on your in- dustry, your business and the way you are working with us. But we are clear, as we move forward, that that reform has to be across the industry. One senses from


“There is nervousness but there again I sense a desire that every- one wants to change and is willing to give a little for the greater good recognising that you are all com- mercial entities.


“We all have different time hori- zons, different commitments to our various owners, funders and other stakeholders, but we have got to find that common ground that allows us to give a little for the greater good if this industry is going to change.”


For more on Haythornthwaite’s reaction to McNulty, see page 20.


Overall rail satisfaction has re- mained steady at 84%, matching last year’s high score, accord- ing to Passenger Focus’ National Passenger Survey, but drops in scores for performance and value for money for some train compa- nies are sparking concern.


The steady improvement of pas- senger satisfaction in the num- ber of trains arriving on time has slowed or been reversed in parts of the country.


Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief


executive (pictured), said:


“The rail industry needs to re- double efforts to make sure that poor performance is spotted, un- derstood and addressed. Getting trains on time remains the key driver of passenger satisfaction.”


Since the Government re-intro- duced the full flexibility for train companies to use when setting regulated fares, some ticket pric- es have soared. Value for money scores for commuter, leisure and business passengers have dropped.


The next three years will see regu- lated fares set at inflation plus 3%. In addition, TOCs can alter indi- vidual fares by up to an extra 5% on some routes, as long as those


overall rises are balanced with fare reductions elsewhere.


Anthony Smith continued: “These scores are a salutary reminder of just how much some passengers are paying to use the railway. The next three years will see passen- gers hit by above-inflation fare


increases – this must be the end of the era of massive fare hikes. Passengers are paying more than their share. It is now up to the in- dustry to reduce its costs.”


For more on UK passenger views and comparisons with our Euro- pean neighbours, see page 59.


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