Byers gets back from holiday to face crisis

A Stony-faced Stephen Byers returned yesterday from his holiday in southern India to a barrage of criticism and an office in-tray piled high with problems.

The beleaguered Transport Secretary's decision to go on holiday as the crisis on the railways worsened provoked a furious response from opposition politicians and passengers.

His arrival yesterday at his department's offices in London's Victoria by chauffeur- driven car led to further claims that the "safe pair of hands" appointed by the Prime Minister to deal with the transport system, had lost his political touch.

As Mr Byers sat back in his ministerial saloon, hapless rail passengers on Britain's busiest commuter network endured another 48-hour strike, which stopped nine out of ten services run by South West Trains.

Meanwhile, travellers in Scotland yesterday found one in four ScotRail trains had been cancelled because of a dispute over drivers' pay.

Among the urgent documents in Mr Byers' in-tray was a copy of a report by Lord Birt – the former BBC director general brought in to overhaul government policy – which highlighted how far Britain's transport system had fallen behind those of other European countries.

It declared that Britain had the most congested roads, the least electrified railways and, unlike other developed countries, no dedicated high-speed train system.

As the Transport Secretary negotiated the VIP lounge at Heathrow, some of the passengers able to get on a train found they were faced with fare increases of up to 17 per cent.

While the cost of commuting to London had been forced down on many routes because of deteriorating standards, a number of operators have increased standard prices by about 4 per cent.

Stewart Francis, chairman of the Rail Passengers Council, said: "We are particularly concerned that on some routes walk-on fares have seen massive increases and some business passengers and season ticket holders will face rises of 10 per cent to 17 per cent in first-class fares."

Mr Francis described the fare increases on some routes as "a real smack in the face" for passengers.

A potential smack in the face for Mr Byers comes in the form of legal action being threatened by shareholders in Railtrack.

They have given the Transport Secretary until Friday to disclose documents relating to his decision to put the company into administration or face a High Court hearing. Mr Byers is accused of scheming the company's demise months before it happened.

And then there is the matter of London Underground, where the public-private partnership plan from Mr Byers' department is in considerable danger of unravelling.

Contingency plans have been drawn up by transport department officials to hand parts of the Tube system to London's Mayor, Ken Livingstone. There are "serious concerns" in Whitehall that plans to give control of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines to private companies will not give value for money to taxpayers.

But perhaps the most damaging event for Mr Byers since he was appointed as Transport Secretary has been the infamous memo sent out by his spin doctor Jo Moore.

Within an hour of the second plane hitting the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September she urged civil servants to take the opportunity to "bury" bad news.

Mr Byers' critics believe the memorandum not only reflected badly on Ms Moore, but also on her boss who has insisted on retaining her – and presumably has continued to take her advice.