Third-party ticket retailers who quietly add fees to the fares they display to passengers are being warned by the Office of Rail and Road that they must be transparent when quoting prices, and not leave out a booking fee or other charges which will be added to the final fare payable. The practice of hiding fees is known as ‘drip pricing’, and some airlines have also been accused of staying silent about charging for such things as allowing passengers to book seats next to each other or taking baggage on board, only revealing the charge when the transaction is almost complete. The rail regulator has examined the trading practices of 19 third-party retailers who are licensed to sell rail tickets. They are entitled to keep 5 per cent, which is the industry’s standard commission rate. But 12 of the retailers examined also charge a fee to passengers in addition to the fare, which ranges from 45p for each ticket to £6.45 for each transaction. Some also offer to calculate split ticket reductions, but charge a ‘finder’s fee’ for this service, which is typically between 10 and 15 per cent. The ORR noted that ‘consumers are shown an initial price while additional fees are revealed later in the sales process. Consumers are often disproportionately influenced by the first headline price they see’, and that ‘UK consumer protection law requires retailers to provide people with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions’. Train operators also sell tickets via the National Rail website, but although they do not charge fees or commission on top of the official fare they can charge for such things as posting paper tickets. The ORR is calling on all retailers to make sure that any booking or finder’s fee is included in the headline price, that there is a clear breakdown at every stage, with appropriate prominence given to any additional charge, and that any additional fees are stated plainly before the booking process begins. The ORR has written to seven third-party retailers, highlighting its concerns and asking for details on how the company will address the findings. The regulator said it plans to publish its letters and the retailers’ responses on the ORR website and will consider any next steps accordingly. The regulator’s report comes at a time when the Department for Business and Trade is expected to publish its findings of a wider consultation into price transparency that highlights the risks of drip pricing. The ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: ‘Consumers can now purchase rail tickets from a wide variety of websites and apps. This report highlights that some online retailers are not as transparent as they need to be when it comes to how they display or provide information on additional fees. ‘We want to ensure consumers are provided with timely and relevant information when making purchase decisions and that drip pricing does not undermine consumer confidence when purchasing rail tickets online.’

The RMT has published the results of a survey which says more than 90 per cent of Network Rail workers think a major railway incident is likely to happen in the next two years because of spending cuts. Network Rail budgets are determined by the Government and the Office of Rail and Road. The union said Network Rail is set to cut £1.2 billion of its budget for Control Period 7 between 2024 and 2029, ‘leading to an overwhelming majority of its staff fearing future accidents and serious safety-related incidents on the railway’. It claimed the cuts include ‘abandoning track renewals for at least the next five years’ and the permanent loss of highly specialised, skilled jobs and equipment ‘as reports of broken rails on our ageing infrastructure rise’. The union has quoted anonymous statements, such as: ‘Planned cuts have staff morale at an all time low as it’s us who maintain the railway and management aren’t listening to us about the seriousness of cutting maintenance schedules and diluting skill levels on jobs. It’s front line staff that will carry the can for any serious incidents.’ ‘Not enough staff left to complete both faults and maintenance. Maintenance is being prioritised but still goes into backlog. Faults are left for days or weeks sometimes. Signallers are already complaining about the growing list of outstanding faults.’ ‘Not enough staff even for the minimum safety maintenance work, using contractors that are not fully qualified for the jobs.’ Other findings are that 77.4 per cent of Network Rail workers think the railway is less safe than it was two years ago, and that 94.3 per cent believe performance and reliability will worsen during the next five-year Control Period. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘These shocking survey results show the real fears of our members on the front line, as the reality of funding cuts to rail becomes clear. ‘These cuts mean Network Rail will not renew a single mile of track for the next five to eight years and the permanent loss of specialist workforce and equipment currently delivering 70 per cent of Britain’s track renewals. ‘Instead, passengers will experience a planned and deliberate reduction of the railway service as reliance on speed restrictions becomes the norm to mitigate the increased safety risk posed by decrepit rail tracks. We are watching the managed decline of a national asset. ‘They must reverse these extremely damaging cuts and move to a genuine public ownership model which sees increased investment year on year and safety for rail workers and user as the number one priority.’ Network Rail told Railnews: ‘Network Rail has to work within its five-year budget set for it by Government and overseen by an independent regulator. Our settlement for the next five years – 2024 to 2029 – is some £43 billion, a substantial sum and comparable with the last five years. The needs of our railway will mean that we’ll have to spend wisely as there are challenges ahead, but substantial track renewals are planned, maintenance will be more effective through the use of new technology and innovation, and doubling our investment on tackling issues caused by climate change will help to keep our railway safe and performing well. ‘Our railway has an enviable safety record, amongst the best in the world, and that’s in a major part to the professionalism and vigilance of our people. We obviously have work to do to give them the reassurances they need, but our focus on delivering the safest and best railway we can remains steadfast.’

GWR advised passengers not to try to travel between London Paddington and Reading until midday at least, because overhead lines were damaged outside Paddington at about 18.30 last night, stranding about 900 passengers on one intercity train after the overhead had become wrapped around it. A fleet of hundreds of taxis was used to rescue them during the evening, but there were further problems because passengers on some trains had jumped down on to the track, effectively blocking the lines until they could be removed by British Transport Police. National Rail said a train had collided with an ‘obstruction’ between London Paddington and Acton Main Line, damaging the overhead. There is also more disruption further west, because floods have blocked the main line between Plymouth and Totnes. Network Rail engineers have been working to repair the damaged overhead at Paddington, and National Rail reports that the Paddington lines have now been reopened to traffic, but services will continue to be delayed and in some cases cancelled until later today. Passengers travelling to Paddington may have to change trains at Reading. The line will probably not be reopened between Totnes and Plymouth until the end of the day. Trains are continuing to run on Cornish lines as far as Plymouth, and between Exeter and London Paddington, while a limited service is being provided between Exeter St Davids and Totnes. GWR customer service and operations director Richard Rowland said: ‘We’re really sorry for customers whose journeys have been disrupted following damage to overhead wires just outside London Paddington last night.  ‘For the safety of passengers all trains were stopped following the incident. Unfortunately, this disruption continues this morning.’

The managing director of Alstom in Britain and Ireland has warned that the company’s Derby factory in Litchurch Lane will have run out of work by the end of January when the building of Aventra units is completed, and if it closes thousands of jobs will be lost. Nick Crossfield was giving evidence in Westminster to the Transport Select Committee, which is preparing a report on the future of Britain’s trains. While the Committee was in session, protestors from Derby and the union Unite were demonstrating outside. Mr Crossfield said: ‘We finish the manufacturing programmes at the end of January – so in six weeks we go from an annual output of 650 cars employing 3,000 people to zero. The meter is running.’ There are also fears for the security of jobs in Alstom’s supply chain, much of which is in the East Midlands, and those fears are already proving justified. He continued: ‘Today, I have the supply chain showing liquidation. My paint supplier has gone into insolvency, a major on-site supplier providing the wiring loom employing several hundred people [has] announced at the end of January it is done. ‘The timing of these decisions is critical because if I don't get clarity in the next six weeks – it all goes.’ He also told MPs on the Committee that ‘there is a conversation to come’ about how the Prime Minister’s decision to abandon HS2 to Crewe and Manchester will affect the order for rolling stock on the high speed line, which was won jointly by Alstom and Hitachi. He concluded that train building in Derby was at ‘serious risk’, and that ‘clarity about future orders, including on HS2’ was needed urgently, warning that if Litchurch Lane closes Britain could need to import trains in future from as far away as China. The leader of Derby City Council Baggy Shanker was among the protestors in Westminster. He has already criticised the lack of government involvement, saying: ‘The hundreds of jobs that will disappear at Alstom will be mirrored by thousands more in the supply chain and when the nation does want to order new trains in the future, it will struggle to find anyone in the UK to build them. ‘This is simply unthinkable for a country which gave railways to the world, and the Government has to find the political will to resolve this crisis.’

Demonstrators calling for the Alstom works in Derby to be saved have been lobbying Parliament. One group was from the Unite union, while Derby councillors and business leaders were also in Westminster. The lobby of Parliament was timed to coincide with a meeting of the Transport Select Committee which was hearing evidence about the future of Britain’s trains. The witnesses questioned by the Committee included Nick Crossfield, managing director of Alstom UK & Ireland, and the Railway Industry Association’s technical director David Clarke. MPs were also due to question Malcom Brown, who is the chief executive of the rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains. Companies like Angel provide nearly all the capital to purchase new trains. The threatened closure of the Alstom works at Litchurch Lane in Derby is said to have put at least 1300 jobs directly at risk, plus 900 or more in the East Midlands supply chain. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Unite will do everything that is required to secure the future of the Alstom workforce. The government’s failure to properly plan its procurement process cannot and will not be allowed to threaten the livelihoods of our members. If the government allows this to happen it will be a gross betrayal of the workforce and the people of Derby. ‘Rail workers in Derby deserve better than this, their futures have been thrown into jeopardy by issues beyond their control. Ministers can’t be allowed to wash their hands of this crisis and they must come forward with a just solution. Equally, Alstom needs to play its part and invest in the site to reinforce its position as a world leader in train manufacturing.’ Derby City Council leader Baggy Shanker said the Alstom plant is a ‘strategically crucial part of the UK’s rail capabilities and the Government needs to recognise this’. He continued: ‘There will be dreadful consequences for the city, the East Midlands and the country as a whole, if train production in Derby is lost. The hundreds of jobs that will disappear at Alstom will be mirrored by thousands more in the supply chain and when the nation does want to order new trains in the future, it will struggle to find anyone in the UK to build them. ‘This is simply unthinkable for a country which gave railways to the world and the Government has to find the political will to resolve this crisis.’

Engineers have been abseiling down the side of a railway cutting in Somerset, after a landslip blocked the line between Salisbury and Exeter. Network Rail and South Western Railway are warning passengers to avoid the route until Monday morning as a result of the slippage, which is at Crewkerne Tunnel. Network Rail completed inspections late on Monday night, and yesterday engineers assessing the damage used ropes to abseil down the cutting and start removing vegetation before beginning to excavate the debris. Network Rail engineers will work around the clock over the next few days to excavate around 100 tonnes of clay, soil and vegetation from around the tunnel entrance. to help stabilise the cutting. Engineers are initially excavating by hand, lowering the debris to the track using chutes, before it’s taken away on an engineering train. A long reach excavator will also be brought in and placed on top of the tunnel using an extra-long arm and bucket to help with the removal of the debris. To make matters worse, floods west of Salisbury have also made providing rail replacement buses difficult. Network Rail Wessex route director Matt Pocock said: ‘I would like to say how sorry we are for the disruption passengers are experiencing following a landslip at Crewkerne tunnel. ‘We’ve experienced over 90mm of sustained heavy rain over the past 48 hours and this has resulted in movement in the earth on the cutting above the tunnel entrance which, if action isn’t taken, could spill over on to the tracks. ‘Our team of engineers are already working extremely hard day and night and in all conditions to remove over 100 tonnes of debris and will be doing all they can so we can reopen the line and passengers can resume travelling on Monday morning.’ South Western Railway’s performance and planning director Steve Tyler added: ‘We know how disruptive this is for customers in the run up to Christmas, so our teams are examining potential ways to run an extremely limited service between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction via Westbury in the coming days. Please check our website for the latest updates.’

Transpennine funding The Railway Industry Association has given a cautious welcome to the government’s confirmation of £3.9 billion to pay for the next stage of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘As far as we understand this is not new money for rail and is not a new pipeline opportunity for rail suppliers. As the Government itself would say, TRU has been under development for more than a decade and is a key component of the 2021 Integrated Rail Plan for the North & Midlands and the Network North plan announced in October. The Railway Industry Association and our members now await the next business case update for TRU.’ Mayors’ rail initiative Metro Mayors Andy Street and Andy Burnham are joining forces to improve rail connections between the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, with the aid of former Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins. They have formed a private sector group led by Arup, which will concentrate on lines between Handsacre, where HS2 will now end, and Manchester. The work will examine costs, capacity and economic benefits. Cardiff plan Network Rail has prepared a masterplan covering more than four hectares of former railway land, which is to be used as a ‘brownfield’ site for new houses near Cardiff Central station. Network Rail said it was one of the last parcels of land to be regenerated in the city centre, and that it had been a barrier to investment for other parts of the city for many years. TikTok fine A fare evader who boasted on TikTok of making fraudulent journeys on East Midlands Railway and published ‘tips’ so that others could do the same, has been convicted under section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 following a collaborative investigation between EMR and British Transport Police. She was fined £773.

Efforts to save the train-building works at Litchurch Lane in Derby are being stepped up, following Alstom’s warning that work will soon run out. If the works close 2000 jobs will be lost, while many more will be at risk in the East Midlands supply chain. Councillors and business leaders in the region are planning to lobby Parliament in two days from now. The demonstration on 6 December will coincide with a select committee meeting discussing rolling stock. There are very few fleets being built or set to be ordered for the National Rail network at the moment, while the order of trains for HS2 will now be smaller because the Prime Minister has scrapped the high speed line north of Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester. Derby city council leader Baggy Shanker said: ‘There will be dreadful consequences for the city, the East Midlands and the country as a whole, if train production in Derby is lost. The hundreds of jobs that will disappear at Alstom will be mirrored by thousands more in the supply chain and when the nation does want to order new trains in the future, it will struggle to find anyone in the UK to build them. ‘This is simply unthinkable for a country which gave railways to the world and the Government has to find the political will to resolve this crisis. It is deeply ironic that only months after Westminster recognised the importance of the rail sector in Derby by making it the headquarters of newly formed Great British Railways, that we should now have to fight to save a vital part of the industry.’ The campaign to avoid the closure is being supported by the managing director of Marketing Derby, John Forkin. He added: ‘The threat to the future of train building is a clear and present danger and the civic, business and wider community will not stand by and watch it happen. A solution is in the hands of Government and we expect that our collective voice will be heard in Parliament. ‘We are a world leader in rolling stock manufacturing and, as a city and country, we should be investing in that skills and talent pool to help grow the economy.’ The works at Litchurch Lane belonged to Bombardier until 2021, which chose Derby as its global centre for the manufacture of aluminium bodies for rolling stock. Clients included leasing companies on behalf of Southern, Transport for London, LTS (now c2c) and Southeastern.

Strikes The Commons Transport Committee has urged the Government not to overlook risks as it prepares to introduce Minimum Service Levels ‘rail strikes’ regulations, and ‘be ready to learn lessons where necessary’. The warning has come as ASLEF starts nine days of an overtime ban, and also prepares to stage rolling strikes at operators in England from tomorrow until 8 December. Landslip Network Rail and South Western Railway are urging passengers between Woking and Basingstoke to only travel if absolutely necessary following a landslip. Cracks up to 45 metres long, 50cm wide and a metre deep have been detected in a 100 metre slope next to the St John’s Hill Road overbridge between Brookwood and Woking. Network Rail has introduced a 20mph speed restriction and part of the railway will be closed next week so that the cutting can be repaired. Ayr ScotRail has confirmed that limited services from Ayr will be reintroduced next week after the line was closed following a recent fire at the former Station Hotel. A half-hourly rail shuttle will start running on 4 December to Prestwick Town, to link with connecting services to Glasgow Central.The safety exclusion zone around the former hotel at Ayr means that full services cannot be restored for now. Rail replacements The Office of Rail and Road has asked operators and Network Rail to address concerns over the consistency and usefulness of information about rail replacement buses during engineering works. The regulator said better information is needed, adding that there were too many places where passengers could be confused by where to go and what to do. Performance The ORR has launched an investigation into punctuality and reliability in Network Rail’s Wales & Western region. Performance has continued to deteriorate while performance elsewhere has been stabilising. While ORR’s investigation will focus on Network Rail, the regulator said it recognises that reliable, punctual trains require cross-industry collaboration, and will arrange a meeting of all parties, including passenger and freight operators. The ORR will assess whether Network Rail is complying with its licence obligations.

Strikes The Commons Transport Committee has urged the Government not to overlook risks as it prepares to introduce Minimum Service Levels ‘rail strikes’ regulations, and ‘be ready to learn lessons where necessary’. The warning has come as ASLEF starts nine days of an overtime ban, and also prepares to stage rolling strikes at operators in England from tomorrow until 8 December. Meanwhile drivers who are members of ASLEF have voted to continue strikes for the next six months. ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘Our members, who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now, are determined that the train companies and the Tory government that stands behind them do the right thing.’ Landslip Network Rail and South Western Railway are urging passengers between Woking and Basingstoke to only travel if absolutely necessary following a landslip. Cracks up to 45 metres long, 50cm wide and a metre deep have been detected in a 100 metre slope next to the St John’s Hill Road overbridge between Brookwood and Woking. Network Rail has introduced a 20mph speed restriction and part of the railway will be closed next week so that the cutting can be repaired. Ayr ScotRail has confirmed that limited services from Ayr will be reintroduced next week after the line was closed following a recent fire at the former Station Hotel. A half-hourly rail shuttle will start running on 4 December to Prestwick Town, to link with connecting services to Glasgow Central.The safety exclusion zone around the former hotel at Ayr means that full services cannot be restored for now. Rail replacements The Office of Rail and Road has asked operators and Network Rail to address concerns over the consistency and usefulness of information about rail replacement buses during engineering works. The regulator said better information is needed, adding that there were too many places where passengers could be confused by where to go and what to do. Performance The ORR has launched an investigation into punctuality and reliability in Network Rail’s Wales & Western region. Performance has continued to deteriorate while performance elsewhere has been stabilising. While ORR’s investigation will focus on Network Rail, the regulator said it recognises that reliable, punctual trains require cross-industry collaboration, and will arrange a meeting of all parties, including passenger and freight operators. The ORR will assess whether Network Rail is complying with its licence obligations.