NEWS
LU breaks passenger record
The Campaign for Better Trans- port (CBT) labelled January 3, the first day back in work for most commuters since rail fares went up by an average of 6%, as a ‘na- tional day of passenger protest’.
The Government backtracked
on its original plans to allow an 8% average rise, but passenger groups say even 6% is far too high.
The CBT urged rail travellers to contact Chancellor George Os- borne by text, tweet or phone call to let him know how much their individual fare has increased and how it was affecting them.
It has also published fare compar- isons that show the gap between the fares paid in the UK and those paid in other European countries.
The UK charges the most for tick-
ets overall, it suggests, while the Italians only pay a tenth of our prices. ATOC has disputed these sorts of claims, noting that some Advance tickets, for example, are among the best value rail fares in Europe.
Its chief executive Michael Rob- erts argued: “Money raised through fares helps to pay for better services. For a number of years, the Government has sought to sustain investment in
the railways by reducing what taxpayers contribute and increas- ing the share that is paid for by passengers.
“The focus of the whole industry is to keep on reducing the over- all cost of running the railways as a way of limiting future fare rises and providing taxpayers with bet- ter value for money.”
For Passenger Focus’s take on the fare rises, see page 88.
London Underground (LU) carried its highest ever number of passen- gers in December, with 4.17 million journeys made on the 9th, accord- ing to figures published by TfL.
This is almost 7% higher than the amount of journeys made on the same day in 2010.
Delays to customers have also been reduced by over 40% since 2003/04, it says.
Managing director Mike Brown said: “We are rebuilding the net- work for the future, delivering 30% more capacity through new trains, track and signalling and rebuilding some of our busiest stations.”
With a final Government decision on HS2 expected just as RTM was going to press, businesses, economists, and trade union lead- ers have been having a major last push to promote the scheme, arguing in letters to national and local newspapers that ‘Britain needs HS2’.
They are calling on the Govern- ment to approve the current plans for the high-speed rail
link be- tween London and Birmingham.
The 100-mile, £17bn project would cut the journey time be- tween the two cities to 49 min- utes from when services begin in 2026, if approved. A further northern section, leading to Leeds and Manchester initially could be constructed for 2032. For many of the experts who have contrib- uted to RTM on the issue over the past year, the northern ‘phase 2’ is what makes the whole line worth- while, as a London-Birmingham line alone would not be justified.
The business and union campaign- ers argue that with rising unemploy-
“HSR has been proven as an ef- fective low-carbon mode of trans- port, creating a stronger economy, a boom for employment and a higher quality of life.
“Simply put, the UK cannot afford not to invest in HSR.”
Labour also supports high-speed rail in principle, but recently the shadow transport secretary Ma- ria Eagle proposed an alterna- tive route that includes a hub at Heathrow.
ment, the UK needs investment in infrastructure, and the creation of jobs would boost the economy.
The line would also help to ease overcrowding on the railways by freeing up much-needed capacity on the classic network, especially the West Coast Main Line.
Signatories to the January 6 letters include John Longworth, director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, as well as Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT and
Frances O’Grady, deputy general secretary of Unite.
They say: “As representatives of workers across the rail industries, we welcome the thousands of construction and engineering jobs that HS2 will immediately bring to the UK economy, as well as the jobs it will create in the long-term within the rail industry.
The creation of one million long-term British jobs outside of the south-east rely on the building of HS2.
The Government postponed an expected
decision on HS2 in
December, reportedly to give of- ficials more time to consider the construction of a £500m tunnel under the Chiltern Hills to avoid damaging an area of outstanding natural beauty and appease some of HS2’s fiercest critics.
Campaigners and countryside campaigners led by Buckingham- shire County Council have stated that they will press for a judicial re- view if the current preferred route goes ahead.
rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 12 | 5
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