Rail Minister Paul Maynard’s address to the North of England Transport Summit at Royal Armouries, Leeds, 30 November 2017 (Original script, may differ from delivered version). Posted without further comment.

Introduction

I’m really pleased to have been asked to deliver the closing address at today’s (30 November 2017) conference.

And what a choice of venue.

I hope there is no deliberate symbolism in asking a Westminster politician to talk to a northern audience about investment in the north in a building devoted to medieval warfare, hunting and instruments of torture.

Before anyone gets any ideas, let me make absolutely that clear I am a northerner as well – both in terms of where I grew up and who I represent in parliament.

And very glad I am too that these days we decide which regions get what resources through sensible means, such as consultation exercises, elections and civil dialogue.

Investment debate

Even so, the truth is that anyone who follows the debate about transport investment in the north might have got the impression that, of late, things have become somewhat gladiatorial.

Well, my view is that that, in itself, is no bad thing.

In fact, one of the reasons that the government pushed hard for metro mayors, and for the creation of sub-national transport bodies like TfN, and why we’re making good progress on giving statutory status to TfN, is because we want regions across the UK to speak with a more powerful voice.

So if we’re hearing free and frank debate, including at conferences like this one, something’s going right.

Our record

But no one should mistake that debate for a divergence from our shared goals – that of building a transport-fuelled Northern Powerhouse.

Or still more serious a mistake – that the government is somehow washing its hands of transport in the north.

Because speaking as a northern MP who now has a seat in government, it’s incredibly exciting to have a hand in delivering the things I called for when I was a backbencher.

When I took up the rail brief 17 months ago, there was already good progress underway.

In 2014, 15 minutes had been knocked off the journey between Liverpool and Manchester by upgrading the track.

In 2015, electrification of the route between Liverpool and Wigan was completed, securing quicker, more reliable journeys.

We upgraded Manchester Victoria, and built new stations at Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge.

In 2016, we awarded new Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises, which will deliver new trains, 500 new carriages, over 2,000 extra services, and room for 40,000 more passengers per week.

These new franchises mean that, by 2020, rail travel in the north will have been transformed.

All the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone.

Also in 2016, we committed £60 million for TfN to develop plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

And this year, we opened the Ordsall Chord, connecting Manchester’s three main railway stations for the first time; all part of the Great North Rail Project, on which we are spending over a billion pounds to deliver better services across the north, with more seats and faster journeys.

Still to come

And there are many more important rail projects underway right now.

The upgrade of Liverpool Lime Street station.

The extra services between Blackburn and Manchester, Bishop Auckland and Darlington – starting next month.

Next year, upgrades between Manchester and Blackpool via Bolton and Preston will be complete.

Followed by a new fleet of Azuma Class 800 trains on the East Coast Main Line.

And we’re working with Network Rail and Rail North on options for upgrades between Manchester, Leeds and York to deliver more seats and faster journeys.

I could go on – but I think the point is clear.

That’s the to-do list of a government taking very seriously its responsibilities towards northern transport.

And I haven’t even mentioned the billions we are spending on northern roads.

Recent announcements

Now, I hope these projects will be familiar to most people in the room.

But I’d also like to touch on some recent announcements that might be less familiar.

Such as the Rail Strategy we announced yesterday.

The HS2 productivity report also out today.

The Transforming Cities Fund, announced in last week’s budget.

And the new Nexus rolling stock announcement for Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland.

Rail strategy

Let me take the rail strategy first.

It’s a story that begins with privatisation, over 20 years ago.

On all the measures that matter most, privatisation has succeeded.

We have one of the most improved railways in Europe, and the safest.

Passenger numbers have more than doubled.

In the north, too, whether one is looking at journeys within the different regions of the north, or to and from the north and elsewhere in the country, passenger numbers are all significantly up over the last 20 years.

Today, for instance, TransPennine Express is one of the country’s fastest growing operators.

But just because something has worked, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.

I understand why the railways were privatised in the way they were, with the trains and the tracks split into separate companies.

But the railway of the mid-1990s is very different from that of today.

And delivering the kind of improvements I’ve been talking about on a working railway is tough.

Doing so across different teams with complicated contracting arrangements is even tougher.

And when things go wrong, a lack of a joined up approach can make things much worse for passengers.

Solutions can take too long.

Communication with passengers is poor.

Train companies take the blame for the failings of Network Rail.

And Network Rail as an infrastructure company has not always been incentivised to focus on the best possible customer service.

So last year we announced that we would start bringing back together the operation of track and train on our railways.

And today I am very pleased to announce that, as part of our reforms, the first line on which track and train operations will be jointly run will be the East Coast Main Line, connecting London, Yorkshire, the north east and Scotland.

From 2020, we’re going to introduce a new generation of long-term partnerships between the public sector and a private partner.

Both track and train will be operated by a single management, under a single brand and overseen by a single leader.

It will mean a better railway, better able to meet today’s challenges.

Whether it’s planning essential repairs, putting in place improvements that can squeeze in an extra service to meet demand, or responding quickly to a problem on the network – the line should be much better run by one team of people working together.

HS2

Let me move on to talk about HS2.

Today we’re publishing a report written following discussions with 100 employers, local authorities and universities across the country.

It sets out how HS2 will improve northern productivity by raising regional growth, leading to a wider range of jobs and careers, which in turn will make it more attractive for graduates to stay in the north – among many other benefits.

But one thing that is very clear is that both central government and local public bodies of all kinds need to work together and plan ahead for HS2 if we are to maximise its benefits – whether to housing, education, local businesses or anything else.

HS2 is coming.

It’s going to transform travel in our country and in the north.

And local areas need to get HS2-ready.

Nexus trains

That’s some of what we’ve announced today and yesterday.

But there were also some big announcements for the north in the budget last week.

Foremost among which is our commitment to spend £337 million replacing the 40-year-old trains on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

The Metro was Britain’s first light rapid transit system and first step-free railway.

Today it remains the second largest metro system in the country.

But its trains are showing their age.

So Tyne and Wear is going to have a new fleet, with the first deliveries coming in 2021 – creating a state of the art Metro once again.

Transforming Cities Fund

The other big announcement in the budget was the government’s new Transforming Cities Fund.

And it’s an idea inspired by this city.

Leeds has long had ambitions to improve transport across the city – ambitions the government shares.

So when a proposed a trolleybus scheme didn’t get the approval it needed last year, we pledged to put £173 million into an alternative.

First Group and local leaders since raised an extra £100 million on top.

Now Leeds is getting:

• new buses
• new park and ride sites
• real-time information for passengers
• and accessibility improvements

The aim is to double bus patronage in Leeds within 10 years.

And what’s worked in Leeds can work elsewhere, so last week the Chancellor unveiled our new £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund.

Half to be shared by the 6 areas with elected metro mayors.

With other cities in England to bid for the remainder.

Liverpool City Region will get £134 million.

And Greater Manchester £243 million.

Just like in Leeds, we want the money to drive productivity and spread prosperity, by improving local transport links and making it easier for people to get around and access jobs.

And we want changes that benefit every citizen, especially those struggling at the margins.

It will be up to cities to tell us what improvements they want, but we want truly transformational changes.

Conclusion

So I hope those remarks are sufficient to suggest that the government hasn’t quite given up on the north just yet.

In fact, we’re only just getting going.

But suffice it to say, for now, that in coming months and years, we are going to be working with the north and for the north.

There’ll be plenty of debate and discussion on the way.

But during my time in the job, I’ll be focused on deeds.

On delivery.

That’s how we’ll all be judged in the future.

On what we, working together, do for the north.

Thank you for your time.

Railway lines closed in the 1960s could be reopened if they boost the economy, the government has said.

The plan forms part of a wider rail strategy under which the government will consider splitting up two of the biggest train operators.

The move would affect Great Western and GTR, which comprises Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern.

The government also plans to devolve running the track and train services to local companies.

At the moment Network Rail, which is state-owned, looks after the track and other infrastructure while train services are operated by private companies.

The first public-private partnerships introduced would be on the East Coast mainline from 2020, which connects London, the North East and Scotland.

Mr Grayling described Network Rail as “one big central blob”, saying the network could be better run locally.

“It means when things go wrong, there’s one team to sort it out,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Tracks revived

Some 4,000 miles of rail routes were closed in the 1960s, mainly in rural areas, known as the Beeching cuts.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the new rail lines could unlock jobs, encourage house building and ease overcrowding.

“The system is creaking – it’s bursting at the seams,” he said.

Mr Grayling said the new routes would “provide better services for commuters but also unlock housing potential”.

Work on the Oxford to Cambridge route starts next summer, and plans to re-open routes around Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter and the North East are being considered.

The government will also consult on splitting up the Great Western franchise between London, the South West and Wales.

That could result in one company running long-distance lines between London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall – while another runs local services across the South West.

Train and track together?

By BBC Transport Correspondent Richard Westcott:

I have never met anyone in the rail industry – either pro- or anti-privatisation – who thinks it was a good idea to split up who runs the trains and who runs the track and signals.

But that is what we have got.

Since the 1990s, there have been plenty of stories about Network Rail teams arguing with train company teams about who should fix a problem and who should pay – causing plenty of unnecessary delays.

Now, the government has said it will change things to create joint teams – with one boss, public and private working together, to solve problems on the line.

The biggest experiment will be on the East Coast mainline, where Virgin-Stagecoach is struggling to make money and has become frustrated with the physical state of the line.

A new public-private partnership is being set up to run the train and tracks together.

But we have no idea yet how it will work, who will pay for things, or when passengers might feel the benefit.

But Labour has called the ideas “un-funded proposals”, with shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald describing the plans as “unambitious”.

“The Tories’ record is of delayed, downgraded and cancelled investment, huge disparities in regional transport spending and soaring fares that are pricing passengers off the railway,” he said.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said it was a “scandal” that the plans did not consider publicly-owned railways.

He said: “The planned breaking up of Great Western and GTR is a massive admission of failure by the government but still they rule out the highly popular option of public ownership.”

Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, said the union would be “pleased to see the lines cut by Beeching restored”.

However, he said Mr Grayling’s new plans would not boost jobs and housing, asking:

“Where is the bold strategic vision for rail – and integrated transport links – in this country?”

Councils and business have also been asked to submit proposals for new lines.

However, the government has no plans to make new money available to fund any such suggestions, the BBC’s transport correspondent Richard Westcott said.

Who was Dr Beeching?

Richard Beeching’s brief as chairman of the British Transport Commission was simple: “Make the railways pay.”

British Rail was losing £140m a year when Dr Beeching took over the commission. His solution, announced on 27 March 1963, was equally straightforward – massive cuts.

The Conservative government welcomed the report, but thousands of people – many in remote rural areas – were horrified they would lose their local branch lines.

Opposition from the pressure groups failed and during the 1960s “Beeching’s Axe” fell on 2,128 stations and more than 67,000 British Rail jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42157853

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663124/rail-vision-web.pdf