notadriver
Established Member
- Joined
- 1 Oct 2010
- Messages
- 3,655
Is this extremely worrying or scaremongering ?
https://www.transportxtra.com/publi...ews/66550/treasury-losing-patience-with-rail-
https://www.transportxtra.com/publi...ews/66550/treasury-losing-patience-with-rail-
The Treasury may withdraw funding support for many rail services if passenger numbers do not recover soon, a transport commentator has claimed.
Writing in the current issue of Rail magazine, Christian Wolmar says: “Infuriated by having to pay out around £700m per month to keep the trains running, the Treasury is on the warpath. Plans have been prepared to cut swathes of the railway in the event of a second lockdown or if numbers fail to return to the railways.
“Officials at the DfT are finding it increasingly difficult to hold the line about keeping all services going.”
A second spike in Covid-19 cases represented “the worst possible threat for the railways”.
“If there is a second lockdown, even a partial one, there is simply no money available for the Department to keep paying for trains carrying fresh air.
“Among the ideas that have been set out would be severe cuts to regional services, including the scrapping of most branch lines (notably those in Cornwall and East Anglia); a reduction in the frequency of intercity trains; and a thinning out of commuter services.
“Any major cuts could well end up becoming permanent. Initially they would be presented as temporary, but without signs of a major revival in numbers they may become irreversible.
“Even the best case scenario being considered by ministers is that, if a vaccine is found, perhaps only up to 60 per cent or possibly 70 per cent of the 2019 passenger number levels will be achieved by 2022.”
In some city regions, local authorities may be willing to accept a reduction in local service frequencies. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has said there is a case for running fewer but longer trains on some lines in the conurbation to improve reliability (LTT 29 May).
Last edited by a moderator: