The
Labour
Party


has
criticised
delays
to
rail
reforms
which
have
been
highlighted
in
a
new
report
from
the
National
Audit
Office,
and
has
repeated
its
pledge
to
fully
renationalise
the
remaining
private
sector
passenger
operators
if
it
is
elected.

The
NAO
has
concluded
that
the
railway’s
performance
‘is
not
good
enough
and
has
not
been
for
some
time’.

It
points
out
that
the
Department
for
Transport
knows
what
the
problems
are,
but
has
not
been
able
to
use
this
knowledge
effectively,
and
that
the
level
of
railway
subsidies
is
‘unsustainable’.

A
further
problem
has
been
that
‘the
government’s
legislative
priorities
have
changed’,
and
this
lack
of
consistency
has
also
made
things
more
dfficult
for
the
DfT,
as
when
a
new
Act
to
reform
the
railways
was
postponed.

Although
a
draft
Rail
Reform
Bill
has
now
been
published,
the
NAO
warns
that
key
reforms
are
now
postponed
until
the
next
session
of
Parliament.
This
is
unlikely
to
take
place
before
the
next
General
Election,
while
the
‘DfT
is
not
yet
set
up
to
secure
value
for
money
from
its
work
to
reform
rail’.

New
data
from
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
has
revealed
that
cancellations
were
at
4.9
per
cent
between
October
and
December
last
year,
which
was
the
highest
level
since
these
figures
were
first
recorded,
ten
years
ago.

Labour’s
shadow
transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
said:
‘It
is
clear
that
under
the
Conservatives
our
rail
services
are
being
run
into
the
ground.
Cancellations
are
soaring,
fewer
and
fewer
trains
are
turning
up
on
time,
and
fares
have
once
again
been
hiked,
leaving
long-suffering
commuters
literally
paying
more
for
less.

’Under
the
Tories
rail
reform
has
stalled
and
we
are
on
a
train
to
nowhere.
Labour
will
end
this
cycle
of
failure
by
bringing
rail
franchises
back
into
public
ownership
as
contracts
expire,
and
putting
passengers
at
the
heart
of
every
decision.’

The
DfT
responded:
‘The
£3.1
billion
of
subsidies
the
NAO
refers
to
are
a
result
of
external
pressures,
including
the
challenges
of
post-Covid
passenger
recovery,
not
related
to
rail
reform
savings.

‘We
have
laid
out
a
clear
plan
for
the
industry’s
future
under
Great
British
Railways
in
our
recently
published
draft
bill
and
we
are
now
pressing
ahead
with
improvements
that
will
benefit
millions
of
customers
like
expanding
Pay
As
You
Go
ticketing,
piloting
simpler
fares,
and
announcing
a
target
for
rail
freight
growth.’