Updated 09.30 Network Rail’s spending plans for Control Period 7, which begins in April, have been given the green light by the Office of Rail and Road. The budget of £43.1 billion consists of £38.5 billion for England and Wales, and £4.6 billion for Scotland. Network Rail has changed some of its proposals since the ORR issued its draft determination in June. Among the revisions is an additional £600 million for safeguarding its infrastructure, which is ageing and under threat, as well as improving safety and performance. Train performance covers punctuality and cancellations, and Network Rail will need to work closely on improving performance with passenger operators. The ORR said ‘targets are more challenging than originally proposed by Network Rail but are realistic’. Freight has been set ‘challenging’ targets, with growth set at 7.5 per cent in England and Wales and 8.7 per cent in Scotland. The ORR is supporting Network Rail’s plan to upgrade its structures so that more rail freight can be moved. Track access charges for freight operators will continue to be capped. Other targets for Network Rail include dealing with risks effectively, particularly those posed by financial pressures and climate change. Network Rail will be required to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 20 per cent, while biodiversity is also to be preserved and enhanced. Money will continue to be tight. The ORR said: ‘It is therefore vital that Network Rail continues to build on the success of recent efficiency initiatives, to help secure a financially sustainable railway and deliver value for money.’ The ORR’s director for economics, finance and markets Will Godfrey said: ‘I’m pleased to see that Network Rail has responded well to our challenges to its initial plans and the result is more robust and customer focused plans which we believe will deliver better outcomes for passengers and freight.   ‘The plans are challenging but achievable. Our five-year funding and regulatory settlement provides stability and a platform for the industry to plan and invest. This is important not just for Network Rail, but also for passenger and freight operators and the supply chain. ’Network Rail must now set out how it will deliver on our final determination.’ Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines responded: ‘The rail sector enjoys an almost unique level of funding certainty and that is a privilege that comes with serious responsibilities. More than £43 billion will be spent over the next five years to deliver a safer and better railway for passengers and freight customers. Today’s announcement gives clarity and certainty for the railway and our supply chain partners and will now enable us to continue building on our detailed delivery plans. ‘The UK and Scottish Governments’ funding commitment and today’s news is a significant vote of confidence in the industry’s future. The impact of inflation, tight public finances and the need to invest more to manage the impact of more frequent extreme weather on the infrastructure does mean that our funding will need to go further than ever before. ‘Throughout CP7 we are committing to delivering extensive investments across the length and breadth of the network. In addition to improvements to safety, we’ll work to boost train performance, usher in new technologies, invest significantly more funds to tackle climate change as well as make £3.6 billion of efficiency savings.’

Passenger watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch are due to reveal their recommendations concerning ticket office closures tomorrow. Operators in England have proposed the closure of more than 900 offices, and the largest stations such as Birmingham New Street, Glasgow Central and London Waterloo are included in their lists. The Department for Transport wants to reduce railway costs by closing the offices and moving the affected staff on to station concourses. The devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have distanced themselves from the DfT’s plans, and are not proposing office closures on their networks. Critics, including the RMT, have argued that no consultation would be needed to make staff outside the ticket offices redundant at a future date, and the union is predicting that thousands of jobs would be at risk. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Around 750,000 passengers have responded to the consultation, making it the biggest ever response to a public consultation with 98 per cent of passengers who have responded opposing the closures. ‘We know that watchdogs, rail companies and government have had behind closed doors discussions in recent weeks. ‘It would be a great betrayal of passengers if the response to such widespread opposition to the closures was a stitch up which still paves the way for ticket office closures and the loss of potentially thousands of railway station jobs. ‘The passenger watchdogs and ultimately the government must listen to rail passengers and abandon the ticket office closure programme, ensuring that there will be no cuts to our station staff who are so vital for passenger advice, accessibility and safety.’

The RMT has launched a broadside against third-party ticket retailer Trainline, alleging that the company is ‘profiteering’ at the expense of passengers and taxpayers. The union claims that Trainline is also set to gain from ticket office closures. The union has spoken out just days before the passenger watchdogs are due to announce their recommendations in connection with the proposed closure of more than 900 station ticket offices in England, to save costs. Under the proposals, staff would move out on to station concourses, where they could assist passengers directly, but the RMT has said that two thousand jobs would then be at risk. The union has pointed out that passengers booking on Trainline are charged a booking fee, which does not apply on the offcial National Rail web site. Trainline is also entitled to the 5 per cent commission which is granted to third party retailers. But the RMT added that Trainline’s search criteria do not give priority to the cheapest ticket, and that its system does not always retrieve all the possible fares. The company is expected to earn revenue of £200 million this year, while the RMT claims the closure of nearly all ticket offices in England will save only £100 million. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Private companies and contractors that are operating within the railways are making a killing while the government is pushing for the closure of all ticket offices. ‘Trainline has a vested interest in seeing ticket offices close and has even suggested that such a move would be a "possible tailwind" for the company. ‘Half the revenue Trainline is expected to make this year could be used to help fund the railways properly, instead of the cost cutting agenda train operators have embarked upon with the ticket office closure programme. ‘Passengers do not want algorithms in apps giving them the ticket that the companies want you to buy so they can make the most profit. ’They need ticket office staff who can recommend the best and cheapest ticket as well as making the railway a safe and secure place for all to go about their travels.’ Railnews has invited Trainline to comment.

Network Rail is reminding people of the dangers of playing on or near the railway as some areas prepare for the school half term holiday, because there has been a spate of incidents involving children and young people at level crossings. Network Rail described CCTV images as ‘shocking’, because the cameras have recorded children taking risks on level crossings at Charfield in Gloucestershire, Wantage in Oxfordshire and at Toffles foot crossing, which is near Topsham on the Exmouth branch in Devon. They are shown stopping to take selfies, loitering on the track and failing to check that no trains are approaching before cycling across the line. East Midlands Railway has also reported young trespassers risking their lives at Bingham, between Grantham and Nottingham. Unexplained cable damage disrupts Tyneside services Network Rail teams are working to repair a damaged power cable in the Seaburn area which is affecting National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro services. The damage first caused problems on Tuesday but delays have continued, and Tyne and Wear Metro has been forced to reduce its service between Pelaw and South Hylton from five to two trains an hour. The cause of the damage has not been revealed. New Network Rail route director named Network Rail has confirmed that acting Sussex route director Lucy McAuliffe has been appointed permanently. She became acting route director last December following two years as the Southern region’s stations and security director, and since then has been overseeing efforts to improve reliability on the Sussex route. Southeastern automates rolling stock inspections Southeastern has signed a contract with Siemens Mobility and Eversholt Rail to develop a fully automated vehicle inspection system. The new technology will be installed at Ramsgate depot, and will use high sensitivity cameras and optical laser sensors to collect and analyse data about the condition of the Mainline fleet. AVI will check each train’s brake pads, collector shoes and wheel profiles, as well as the wheel tread thickness. It will also inspect the underframes.

National Rail operators and Transport for London have reached an agreement which means Day Travelcards can continue to be bought by passengers who are starting their journeys from outside the TfL area. Travelcards were introduced in the 1980s as a joint initiative between British Rail’s Network SouthEast and London Transport, when the tickets were originally branded Capitalcards. They allow unlimited travel for one day on Transport for London trains, trams and buses, but were in danger of being abolished as Transport for London was struggling to balance its books since the disruption and loss of revenue caused by Covid. The agreement follows a long period of negotiation by the Rail Delivery Group, TfL and the Department for Transport to find a compromise which secures the future of the tickets while at the same time enabling TfL to meet its budget commitments. However, the price of the tickets will rise by an average of 3 per cent in March, in addition to any general increase in regulated fares. Rail Delivery Group commercial director Paul Bowden said: ‘I think it is a great outcome for customers that we’re able to keep this popular ticket, which offers complete travel flexibility in London. There has been a huge amount of work behind the scenes, with the industry working together with a firm focus on customers’ interests.’ TfL’s chief customer and strategy officer Alex Williams added: ‘I’m delighted that after close collaboration with the Rail Delivery Group and Department for Transport, we have now been able to find a solution which allows the Day Travelcard to continue to be accepted on TfL services, while still meeting the terms of TfL’s funding agreement with Government.’ The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was ’delighted’. He continued: ‘As part of the Covid-19 financial deal TfL made with the Government, there is a requirement to make savings of £600 million. I refused to countenance removing weekly, monthly or season travelcards and today I am pleased to confirm the Day Travelcard is also now safe. ‘The offer now on the table saves a much-valued product for visitors to London, while giving TfL a fairer share of ticket revenue.’

Some long-distance trains on the West Coast Main Line have been cancelled during the last three weeks of December. The cuts have triggered new criticism of Avanti West Coast, which almost lost its government contract after problems with performance last year. After two six-month probationary periods the Department for Transport granted a new long-term National Rail Contract to Avanti’s owners FirstGroup and Trenitalia, which began on 15 October. Avanti said the reductions would be temporary, and mainly affected the London-Manchester route. They are intended to reduce the likelihood of cancellations being announced at short notice. One insider pointed out to Railnews that there would still be around 40 daily trains between London and Manchester during the week, with 31 on Saturdays. Most Sunday services are unaffected. However, the drivers’ union ASLEF said Avanti’s explanation was ‘nonsense’, and that the operator was letting the public down over the Christmas period. ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘Avanti West Coast has consistently let down rail staff and the great British public. Not employing enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised passengers – and the government has left crucial services understaffed and undervalued.’ Avanti added that it had withdrawn peak-hour restrictions from 22 December to 7 January, to spread demand.

Reports are claiming that at least some station ticket offices in England will be spared the nationwide cull which was proposed during the summer, as the deadline for making recommendations about the closures approaches. The House of Commons Transport Committee has written to rail minister Huw Merriman to express its concerns about the proposed closures and their effect on disabled travellers and people with special access needs.  The letter voices the Committee's concerns that these proposals go ‘too far and too fast’, and risk excluding some passengers from the railway altogether. At a minimum, the letter argues, any proposed changes should be ‘carefully piloted’ so that the effects can be assessed before closures are imposed more widely.  The Committee says evidence from operators suggested that ‘the justification for these changes was based on the behaviour of the majority of passengers’. The letter recognises that it is reasonable to an extent that operators should adapt to changes in how passengers buy tickets but argues that this is ‘not a sufficient approach to safeguarding the needs of disabled passengers’. The cross-party committee of MPs says ‘there are many legitimate concerns about whether ticket office closures would reduce the assistance these passengers need to travel freely and reliably on the railway like anyone else’. The letter calls for clarity about alternative staffing and the arrangements for people with different kinds of disabilities. The letter has followed an evidence session held in September on the proposed closures as part of a wider inquiry into the legal obligations of Accessible Transport. If the proposals set out in August went ahead in full even some of the largest stations, including London Waterloo, Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Central, would lose their ticket windows, in a bid to reduce railway costs. Transport ministers say the displaced staff would be moved on to open areas of their stations, such as concourses and platforms, where they would give face-to-face assistance to passengers. They argue that ticket offices are no longer essential, because 88 per cent of journeys now involve purchases from ticket machine or bookings on line. Critics say arranging help on concourses would be difficult to manage, and that without the discipline of queues at ticket office windows the staff could risk being overwhelmed at busy times. The RMT is also concerned that thousands of jobs could be lost. The watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have reported that they had received 680,000 responses to the consultation by the time that it closed on 1 September, but the RMT has claimed that the total was more like 750,000, with 98 per cent of respondents opposing the closures. Although any official comments are unlikely before the end of this month, when the watchdogs are due to announce their recommendations, the Daily Mirror has quoted an industry source as saying: ‘I’m sure the train companies thought this would be a done deal. But the sheer weight of opposition has made them have a major rethink.’ If savings are made by closing at least some offices the operators will not benefit, because they now run trains as contractors on behalf of the Department for Transport, which collects the revenue and pays the costs. The Rail Delivery Group says: ‘If accepted, the proposed changes would be phased in gradually. Ticket office facilities will remain open at the busiest stations and interchanges, selling the full range of tickets.’ RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, who is opposing closures, said: ‘Do we want a stripped-down app-based society, where people who are not necessarily attuned to modern technology feel a bit left out?’

Members of the RMT have voted in favour of continuing strikes for another six months in the long-running dispute with the Rail Delivery Group over pay and jobs. In the wake of the result, the union has warned that it is prepared to call further stoppages over the autumn and winter unless there is a settlement. The ballot was held to comply with the law which governs industrial relations, and involved more than 20,000 RMT members at most train operators in England. The union said 89.9 per cent had voted to continue strikes, and that the turnout had been 63.6 per cent. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘I congratulate our members for delivering a decisive mandate for future industrial action as we pursue a negotiated settlement of jobs, pay and conditions. ‘This ringing endorsement of RMT's approach to the dispute now means we have industrial leverage to secure an improved offer from the RDG. ’The government who controls this dispute through a contractual mandate over the train operating companies, must now allow the Rail Delivery Group to put forward a revised offer so we can work towards reaching a settlement. ‘However, if no new offer is forthcoming, we will once again take strike action in defence of our members’ livelihoods.’ The RDG responded: ‘We want to resolve this dispute and are acutely aware of the damaging impact it's having on our passengers, our people and the many businesses up and down the country who rely on rail.    ‘We call on the RMT executive to bring an end to this dispute and put the deal, which offers job security guarantees and a pay rise of up to 13 per cent to the lowest paid workers, to its members so we can end the uncertainty and move forward with delivering a better railway for our customers.’

The Arriva Group has been sold by German state-owned train operator Deutsche Bahn to the American transport investor I Squared Capital. The value of the sale has not been disclosed, but it is reported to be around £1.4 billion. DB bought the British company Arriva from its shareholders in 2010, after it had been founded as leasing company Cowie in north east England in 1938. Cowie entered the bus market in the 1980s as a result of deregulation and privatisation. Arriva owns the Department for Transport contract to run CrossCountry, which has just been renewed and started on Sunday. It also has the Chiltern Railways contract and owns a number of bus companies in Britain and on the continent, where it also runs some train operators. The Group has been running trains in Britain since early 2000, when it acquired first-generation franchise holder MTL Group. DB had been trying to sell Arriva for some time to raise cash, but reported interest from FirstGroup came to nothing. Deutsche Bahn’s CFO Dr Levin Holle said: ‘We are happy that I Squared is willing to support Arriva in its future growth.  Arriva has good prospects for sustainable growth as market liberalisation in Europe progresses. The strategic goal of Deutsche Bahn is to make record level investments in environmentally friendly rail in our core business, combined with the massive increase of investment of the German Federal Government into our German rail infrastructure. The purchase agreement signed today is therefore in the spirit of Strong Rail. At the same time, the sale to I Squared will give Arriva new options to support its growth potential, for example for the future electrification of European fleets. For us, the agreed sale is an important step to focus even more on additional growth in rail transport in Germany.’ I Squared invests in transport, logistics, energy, utilities, and digital infrastructure. The firm said it ‘is committed to creating sustainable, long-term growth across its portfolio, supporting management teams in improving operational performance, and investing to support the energy transition with lower-carbon infrastructure’. Managing partner Gautam Bhandan said: ‘Transport accounts for around one-fifth of global CO₂ emissions. Three-quarters of this is from road transport, and a greener public transport sector is critical to the shift to lower-carbon infrastructure. Arriva’s strategy for net-zero operations and the decarbonisation of its fleet aligns with our strategy to develop and scale assets with technologies that accelerate the energy transition, as well as providing cleaner air in cities and towns by investing in green public transport. We are excited to work with Arriva and we will invest to support its future growth as a major European bus and rail operator.’ Arriva Group Mike Cooper added: ‘We want to see a future where people choose to leave their car at home, a future with less traffic congestion and cleaner air. This transaction marks an exciting next stage for us, and will deliver significant benefits for our colleagues, our passengers and the many Passenger Transport Authorities we partner with across Europe, enabling us to play our role in delivering a better future.’ The sale of Arriva should be completed next year, so long as closing conditions and approvals are agreed.

The Second National Infrastructure Assessment has been published today, and it says economic growth will be achieved by improving public transport in large regional cities. It is also advising road improvements on stretches which are ‘underperforming’, but these should be accompanied by a ‘new, comprehensive and long term’ plan for railways in the Midlands and North of England. The National Infrastructure Commission’s report has appeared just two weeks since the Prime Minister announced that he was axing Phases 2A and 2B of HS2 between the West Midlands, Crewe and Manchester. The Commission is warning that ‘all infrastructure systems should be more resilient’ and also protect the environment by reducing carbon emissions. It continues: ‘The costs as well as the benefits of transforming the UK’s infrastructure will be borne by the public as taxpayers and billpayers. But making these investments will help lower costs for households and keep them lower in the longer term. These upfront investments will be paid for by consumers in their bills over the coming decades, not all at once.’ The Commission’s chair, Sir John Armitt, said: ‘The good news is that modern, reliable infrastructure can support economic growth, help tackle climate change and enhance the natural environment. ‘We stand at a pivotal moment in time, with the opportunity to make a major difference to this country’s future. But we need to get on with it. ‘People often talk about infrastructure as the backbone of our economy: what our infrastructure needs now is the collective mettle to turn commitments into action that will reap rewards for decades to come.’ Sir John has already described the decision not to continue HS2 north of Birmingham as ‘deeply disappointing’, and he has now sounded a warning about the land which had already been bought for the project and which the government is now planning to sell as soon as possible. He told the BBC: ‘I think it's a mistake. I think that the land should be kept for at least two or three years to give the opportunity for people to revisit that and look at what can be done within that space and find a more cost-effective solution, not write it off today. ‘I am disappointed because I think it's what we often describe as a sort of knee-jerk, snap reaction. ‘We had an integrated plan a few weeks ago, we've now lost that. There are a number of projects, some of which already existed, some new ones. Let’s get those properly turned into a well-thought-through, integrated plan for the future.’