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Select committee blames Blair over rail crisis

Barrie Clement Transport Editor
Thursday 31 January 2002 20:00 EST
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Tony Blair failed to get to grips with a rail network in need of investment on a scale that would "dwarf" the £65bn earmarked in the Government's 10-year plan, an all-party Commons committee concluded yesterday.

The Transport Select Committee described the Prime Minister's failure to engage with the rail issue on his election in 1997 as "most unfortunate" and derided the Treasury for refusing to "accept reality" and release the "very large sums of money" needed to rebuild the network. The Treasury was also criticised for declining to appear before the committee.

The Strategic Rail Authority was branded "appalling" for managed to renew only three train franchises despite the target of replacing all 18 shorter-term contracts by the end of 2001. The Government's decision to place less emphasis on long-term contracts was a "significant step backwards".

And MPs on the committee declared they were "astonished" that ministers had failed to draw up a contingency plan to address Railtrack's failures.

The committee's report said that it was "extraordinary" that the future of the west coast main line from London to Glasgow was again in doubt. The Government should establish how it could be "salvaged from Railtrack's mismanagement". The Treasury was warned that unless it made an unequivocal commitment to provide the necessary funding, the Department of Transport would be forced to switch more money in the 10-year plan from roads to rail to ensure that targets for rail were met.

The committee chairwoman, Gwyneth Dunwoody, the Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, said: "We think investment on a very large scale is going to be required. What we need from the Government is leadership and focused control over those who have been failing the passengers."

One point of disagreement emerged over the decision by Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Transport, to put Railtrack into administration. Most MPs thought that the move was correct and that the failure of senior managers had led to its downfall. The document calls for the administration to be completed as soon as possible and expresses concern that administrators' fees could consume "large sums" without bringing any direct benefits to the travelling public.

But in a minority report, Tory members warned that the confidence of the private sector would evaporate because the company was being forced into bankruptcy.

The report, entitled Passenger Rail Franchising and the Future of Railway Infrastructure, says: "Just about all the players in the industry have contributed to the chaos that the railways are now in."

The committee said "it was most unfortunate that", in 1997, the Prime Minister did not give rail the priority it needed; Railtrack did not meet its responsibilities to develop the network; the Strategic Rail Authority failed to provide leadership; and train-operating companies did not improve services to meet the needs of the passengers.

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