The UK Transport Secretary has called for train companies to “take immediate action” to improve reliability, while launching an investigation into the “worse performance” of Britain’s railways.
Louise Haigh, the British Transport Minister, announced on Tuesday that she would invite the leaders of Britain’s poorest-performing train companies to a meeting about performance after the number cancellations had reached a record high.
Haigh, a spokesperson for the Department for Transport, said that he would “take train managers to task for their woeful performances”.
“Britain’s rails fail passengers every day, without exception.” . . Haigh stated in a press release that “holding industry bosses accountable” was my top priority.
Labour has promised to renationalise passenger networks within its first term, by bringing each operator under state control when their contract expires in the Parliament. Haigh, however, warned during the election campaign she would consider terminating contracts sooner if train operators performed poorly.
The Minister met with the CEO of Avanti West Coast, which has been struggling for almost two years due to a breakdown in relations with drivers as well as problems with West Coast Main Line infrastructure.
Avanti operates trains on some the busiest routes connecting London with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. In the last year, the company has cancelled around 7 percent of its trains.
Haigh stated that he had “called in the worst performing train operating companies, starting with Avanti West Coast,” along with Network Rail to demand immediate action for raising standards.
Avanti West Coast stated: “We met with the secretary of State today along with our colleagues from Network Rail to discuss current challenges on the Network. We discussed the unique issues that affect us and the industry as a whole during the meeting. We look forward to more discussion.”
According to Labour’s plan, Network Rail (the publicly-owned infrastructure manager) and passenger services would be merged into a new public body that is independent of the government.
Haigh also said that she had called Network Rail managers in order to discuss the problems plaguing Britain’s aging rail infrastructure which has contributed to an increase in delays. According to the Office of Rail and Road regulator, these delays reached 3.8 percent over the past 12 months, which is the joint-highest on record.
The minister also met with the leader of Aslef – the union of train drivers – in an effort to put an end to two years of strike action over a wage dispute.
Avanti West Coast was contacted to get a comment.
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