The number of crimes committed on London Underground rose by more than a third in the six months from April to September this year, pushing the crime rate for each million passengers up from 13.7 to 18.6. The RMT has called for an end to ‘austerity’ measures which can potentially reduce the deployment of staff on duty. Transport for London has reported that although crime has risen, passenger numbers are down by 11 per cent. There is particular concern about thefts and robberies, because thefts were up by 83 per cent and robberies by 107 per cent. Almost two thirds of thefts took place on trains, at 61 per cent, while the rest were on stations. The worst stations for thefts were all busy interchanges in central London – King’s Cross St Pancras, Leicester Square and Oxford  Circus. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘These soaring crime rates come as no surprise to tube workers that are on the front line every day in this increasingly hostile environment. ‘RMT has been warning for many years that instead of an agenda of austerity and constant cutbacks we need decent staffing levels and investment to ensure a safe and secure transport network for London.’ Meanwhile, the RMT has discovered that one in three of its female members working for ScotRail have been sexually harassed in the course of their job, following a new survey. The union said more than 80 per cent of the respondents revealed they had not reported the incident, with most saying they felt they would not be taken seriously. More than half also said they had witnessed female passengers becoming the victims of sexual harassment over the past year.

The lobbying group Rail Partners has made a new bid to get the private sector more involved in operating passenger railways. The group has already campaigned for a continuation of privately-owned operators, and for them to have greater commercial freedom than they have under current National Rail Contracts. Although the Government appears to be sympathetic, the Labour Party has said it would move towards a ‘publicly-owned railway’ in England if it gains power at the next General Election. The Scottish and Welsh operators have already been renationalised by the devolved governments, while three previously-franchised English operators, Southeastern, Northern and TransPennine Express, have also been returned to state control. LNER was set up as a nationalised operator from the start in 2018 following the failure of the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise, which was mostly owned by Stagecoach. Rail Partners is now calling for more open access operators to be permitted, such as Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo. The Office of Rail and Road has already approved an application by Grand Union Trains to operate five trains a day between London, Cardiff and Carmarthen from December 2024, although Grand Union says the opening date is yet to be confirmed because it is in talks with rolling stock suppliers. Grand Central has also just been granted permission to call at Peterborough for the first time. Another operator, Wrexham & Shropshire, had to close in early 2011 after financial problems. Rail industry leaders met in London for Rail Partners’ Open Access Summit, to discuss ‘unlocking the potential of open access rail operations’ within Britain. The discussion focused on how to encourage new open access services and how to remove existing barriers to prospective entrants. Yesterday’s event was attended by rail minister Huw Merriman, who Rail Partners described as ‘a longstanding advocate of open access operations’. Also at the meeting were civil servants from the Department for Transport and the Treasury. They were joined by representatives of Network Rail, the ORR, existing open access operators, rolling stock leasing companies, third-party ticket retailers and many of the owning groups, including Arriva Group, FirstGroup, Mitsui, MTR, Trenitalia and Transport UK (formerly Abellio). Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘Alongside the important role played by contracted operators, open access services have the potential to deliver really tangible benefits for passengers and communities across the UK. ‘Currently, the system is not set up to fully unlock that potential, or attract new entrants into the market. That’s why bringing together so many senior industry colleagues to work together, find the solutions, and remove those barriers is so important, and we’re optimistic that we will see measures to support open access in the near future.’ Arriva UK Trains managing director David Brown added: ‘Open-access operators, like Arriva’s Grand Central, are of vital importance to our railway, driving competition and innovation at the same time as connecting areas of the country that are underserved by the regular timetable. ‘Today’s summit was a welcome first-step in ensuring the role of open-access operators is not only safeguarded but encouraged to grow.’ 

Grand Central trains will soon be calling at Peterborough for the first time. The open access operator has been given approval for its trains to call at Peterborough twice a day from Monday to Saturday by the Office of Rail and Road. Grand Central began running on the East Coast Main Line between London and Sunderland in December 2007. After Hull Trains, it was the second open access operator on the route, and it was given permission by the regulator to call at York. This decision proved controversial and it was legally challenged, without success, by the franchised operator GNER, which withdrew from the industry soon afterwards. Grand Central added a second route between London and Bradford in May 2010, but the new approval for Peterborough marks the first time that its trains have been allowed to call at an intermediate station south of York. The ORR said it supports open access services where these provide competition without ‘unduly’ affecting performance. It also considers what the effect will be on Government funds. The modern successor to GNER on the East Coast route is LNER, which is nationalised. Local services between London and Peterborough are run by private sector Govia Thameslink Railway, which has a National Rail Contract. The ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: ‘Open access services promote competition on the rail network and give passengers more choice about how they travel. With passenger numbers still not quite recovered following the pandemic, it’s important that the network provides options for all as the industry looks to increase passenger journeys. ‘ORR plays a crucial role in overseeing competition on our railway, and we’ll continue to assess open access applications with the goal of providing greater consumer choice, value and performance.’

The Office of Rail and Road has begun sponsoring the Rail Ombudsman, in line with a commitment in the 2021 Plan for Rail. The ORR will now hold the Ombudsman to account for independent and impartial provision of its service. The Ombudsman is the last of port of call for unhappy passengers who have not reached an agreement with the relevant operator or the applicable passenger watchdog – Transport Focus or London Travelwatch. The ORR has updated how the Ombudsman operates, including new arrangements to make the service more accessible. The changes include the appointment of a non-executive director with experience of disability and the training of Ombudsman staff about accessibility. There are also new ways for passengers to contact the Ombudsman, and a programme of upgrades to processes and systems to make the service easier to use. Since the service was introduced in 2018, the Rail Ombudsman has dealt with more than 15,000 cases. The ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: ‘The Rail Ombudsman provides confidence to passengers that there is an independent body to turn to where they are unable to resolve a complaint with their train or station operator. In ORR’s new oversight role we’ve improved the model for how the Ombudsman service operates to better serve the needs of passengers.’

The Office of Rail and Road has approved Castleford station, which has been rebuilt and is due to open soon. The ORR has worked with Network Rail to make sure that the station meets the required standards. The station’s second platform has been rebuilt and will be reopened. A new footbridge with lifts has also been installed. Each of these elements, as well as lighting and signage, were inspected. Bridge completed HS2 has completed the last section of earthworks that will carry East West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge over the new high speed line near Calvert in Buckinghamshire. Contractors have built two bridges, one underpass and 3.4km of adjacent earthworks for EWR where the two projects intersect. Contracts awardedNetwork Rail has awarded several contracts worth a total of £61.5 million for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project. The contractors are Story Contracting, AmcoGiffen, SPL Powerlines, Siemens, Rail Systems Alliance Scotland and WSP. Electrification of 22.4 single track kilometres can now go ahead.

Changes to the rules about central door locking could mean the end of heritage trains on Network Rail infrastructure, a major operator has warned. West Coast Railway Company, which runs many steam-hauled specials on National Rail lines as well as the scheduled ‘Jacobite’ service between Fort William and Mallaig, is challenging a decision by the Office of Rail and Road to revoke an exemption which allows heritage trains on the main network even though they are not fitted with full central locking for their swing doors. Instead, operators like West Coast have been permitted to use a modified system, which includes stewards in each coach who bolt the doors individually using secondary door locking. They are also responsible for monitoring the doors while the train is in motion. West Coast has warned that converting its coaching fleet to full central locking would cost £7 million. This would take almost 10 years to repay, and the business would cease to be a going concern. The operator has challenged the ORR’s decision in the High Court over the past two days, but judgment has been reserved and may not be known for several weeks. West Coast pointed out that safety is its priority and there have been no accidents caused by its present door locking system. The operator’s commercial manager James Shuttleworth said: ‘This country was the birthplace of railways and I very much hope it won’t be the death of our steam power on the main line. Specialist railways are one thing, but to truly experience the beauty and power of steam we still need our most famous trains to run on the real railway. ‘Our services, particularly the Jacobite, have become an intrinsic part of Scottish tourism; they’re lynchpins. They have helped build up local economies, which we’re extremely proud of. When we first started operating the Jacobite in 1995, I don’t think we could have predicted how popular an attraction it would become. ‘Safety is, of course, WCR’s priority and WCR supports the ORR’s desire to continue to drive safety improvements. The challenge we have is the cost of installing a modern safety system on carriages from a different era. Our decades of operational experience suggest to us that a steward to four doors, with secondary locks and monitoring, a train manager and a guard is enough to ensure the safety of our passengers and colleagues.’ Heritage trains running on main lines have been criticised in recent years, particularly when reckless ‘enthusiasts’ trespass on the railway because a train hauled by a locomotive like the Flying Scotsman is due to pass. A major accident was only narrowly avoided at Wootton Bassett Junction on the Great Western Main Line in March 2015, when a steam special almost collided with an HST because the driver of the steam locomotive had passed a signal at danger, overrunning it by almost 700 metres and coming to a stand fouling the main line. The train’s operator West Coast Railway Company was temporarily banned from running heritage specials. In June 2016 West Coast was fined £200,000 with costs of £64,000 at Swindon Crown Court, while the driver was given a prison sentence of four months, suspended for eighteen months. Both the driver and West Coast had admitted health and safety offences. The RAIB later reported that both the AWS and TPWS on the locomotive had been isolated, against the rules. In evidence, the ORR said its inspectors had uncovered 'significant failings in WCRC’s managerial controls'. It added: ‘This prosecution has led to WCRC taking significant steps to improve its management of safety, with support from the regulator.’

Ballot papers are being sent to RMT members working for London Underground, as the RMT pursues its claim for better pay and a restoration of free travel for all Underground staff. The union said Transport for London has created a ‘bonus pot’ worth £13 million for senior managers, while the commissioner’s pay has been increased by 11 per cent this year. It is also unhappy about a ‘freezing’ of pay bands, and claimed that the freeze will create a two-tier workforce. The ballot opened yesterday and will continue until 19 December. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Tube workers who help bring vast amounts of value to the London economy are not going to put up with senior managers and commissioners raking it in, while they are given modest below inflation offers. ‘The refusal of TfL not to restore staff travel facilities and create a two-tier workforce is also unacceptable. Our members will now decide whether to set a mandate for strike action over pay and we urge TfL to improve their offer to avert disruption to Londoners.’ Transport for London said it was encouraging the RMT to ‘continue to engage with us’ and put the latest offer to its members. It had offered staff a 5 per cent pay increase for 2023, and although some jobs did come within a pay range which has been frozen for this year, is said this applied to ‘less than 2 per cent’ of staff.

The modernised and enlarged station at Gatwick Airport opened to passengers this morning. The first train to call was the 05.48 Thameslink service from Bedford to Brighton. There has been a Gatwick Airport station since 1935, when the name was given to an existing station at Tinsley Green. This was replaced by another Gatwick Airport station in 1958. This was also an existing station called Gatwick Racecourse which was rebuilt to serve the airport. In 2019-20 the station was used by more than 21 million passengers, according to the Office of Rail and Road. Modernisation has added a second concourse, eight new escalators, five new lifts, four new stairways and additional ticket gates. The platforms have been widened and track has been upgraded. The station is within the North Terminal, but the linkspan to the South Terminal has also been improved. The two concourses have allowed a one-way system to be introduced. Passengers going to the airport terminals will use the new concourse, while the older concourse will be for passengers leaving the airport. Network Rail Sussex route director Lucy McAuliffe said: ‘I’m delighted to see the upgraded Gatwick Airport station open today, providing the millions of passengers that use the station each year with a fantastic and fit-for-purpose station that supports the ambitions of London Gatwick and the significant growth in passengers expected in the years to come. ‘This has been a highly complex and challenging project and I am proud of how hard our teams have worked in close conjunction with our partners to deliver a station upgrade that makes journeys to the airport much easier for all passengers and encourages people to ditch the car and travel by rail, the cleanest and greenest way to travel. ‘This project is not just for those making their way to the airport, the work benefits passengers right across the route by giving them quicker journeys and a more reliable timetable. I hope passengers enjoy this newly upgraded station.’ Govia Thameslink Railway customer services director Jenny Saunders added: ‘Our trains sustainably speed people to the airport in just half an hour from London - and that's much better for the environment than driving. ‘However, the station has been struggling with the numbers using it and that holds up our trains, delaying everyone. ’This stunning redevelopment has fixed all that. I genuinely believe our customers are going to love the extra space and improved accessibility that will make the journey between train and plane quicker, easier and more attractive.’                                                                                                                                                   

The government is said to be poised to reintroduce a degree of commercial freedom in National Rail Contracts, with the intention of allowing operators to increase profits. It is reported that the owners of operators are urging the government to loosen the tight restrictions of the present contracts. These were introduced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which led to the conventional franchises being suspended in March 2020 and then cancelled in September. Emergency agreements replaced the franchises, in which the Department for Transport collected the revenues and paid the operators’ costs, plus a management fee. They have now been replaced by new-style National Rail Contracts, which also involve a management fee and very little commercial risk for the operators. The Financial Times has reported that talks over changing the terms of these contracts have already started, amid concerns that passenger numbers, although rising, have not yet returned to pre-Covid levels on some routes. At the same time several operators, including nationalised LNER, say their passenger levels are now higher than they were in 2019. LNER is one of four renationalised operators in England. The others are Northern, Southeastern and TransPennine Express. Caledonian Sleeper, ScotRail and Transport for Wales have also been taken over by their respective devolved governments. The need to attract more passengers and increase earnings was emphasised by transport secretary Mark Harper last week. He told the Commons Transport Committee: ‘There are only two ways you can make the rail industry sustainable. You either drive up revenue or you reduce costs. And taking costs out means reducing services.’ Meanwhile, plans to create a new ‘guiding mind’ called Great British Railways, which would have its headquarters in Derby and control passenger contracts as well as the infrastructure, are apparently suspended for now. The government has not allocated any Parliamentary time to debating an Act of Parliament authorising GBR this side of the forthcoming General Election.

New trains for the Piccadilly Line of London Underground built by Siemens are being tested in Germany and Austria. The procurement has been running behind time because a new Piccadilly Line fleet had been intended to enter service almost 10 years ago, but the plan was frustrated by the failure of the Underground’s Public-Private Partnerships. One of the new trains is on the Siemens test track at Wildenrath, near Düsseldorf, while three cars are being assessed inside a cold chamber in Austria to make sure that the cars would function during severe winter weather on surface sections of the Piccadilly Line. Siemens Mobility is building 94 trains for Transport for London, and about half are set to be assembled at Goole in Yorkshire from next year. Merseyside devolution proposals Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram signed a ‘trailblazer’ Memorandum of Understanding about rail devolution with transport secretary Mark Harper during the official opening of Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby. The MoU opens the door to closer links between Network Rail and the City Region, which could gain more control over investments to improve the Merseyside network, including stations. HS2 Euston debate Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly have clashed with the Conservatives over concerns about the effects of HS2 between Old Oak Common and London Euston, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 October. During Mayor’s Questions, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari said local businesses in Camden have been affected by the pausing of construction at Euston. Over 70 businesses were forced to move because of the work, while hundreds more have lost some of their customers. According to Assembly Member Bokhari, both residents and businesses in Camden could now face decades of disruption amid concerns over the private sector’s ability to fund the project. Castle commemorated A new Class 197 unit built by CAF for Transport for Wales has named by schoolchildren in a ceremony at Carmarthen station. The trains are being used first between Swansea and Carmarthen, but there are plans to extend their service area westwards to Milford Haven and Fishguard Harbour. The name ‘Carew Castle Express’ was chosen by year 5 pupil Rhys Protheroe from Johnstown primary school in Carmarthen, and it commemorates an ancient landmark in Pembrokeshire.