Peer review: Stephen Joseph
Chief Executive,
Campaign for Better Transport
Paul Clifton’s article exposes the fragmented way in which rolling stock is managed in the UK. Lip service is paid to having a market in new and existing trains, but in practice the DfT pulls the strings. The problem is that because it doesn’t want to be seen to be doing so, the bigger picture is missing.
And the bigger picture is about UK manufacturing and rebalancing the economy - something to which all politicians at least pay lip service.
If this means anything at all, it is about building up skilled manufacturing jobs in the UK, diversifying away from financial services. In particular, a focus on green and low-carbon industries ought naturally to include rail.
If this is to happen in rail, however, it will need Government leadership whereby it endorses and supports the industry’s long-term rolling stock strategy and uses franchising, funding and other levers at its disposal to produce a long-term order book for new and refurbished rolling stock, backed by the development of skills and apprenticeships to give these orders at least a chance of being made in the UK.
Government does do this in other sectors. It has an ‘automotive council’, grants, funding and regulation which together are promoting a move to low-carbon and electric cars being built in the UK.
Energy policy is more of a mess, given the reluctance of some elements of the Conservative party to admit that climate change is real and human-caused. But even here there has been support for various kinds of energy generation - for example, major offshore wind generation industries being sited in Hull and elsewhere.
The challenge is to make this happen for rail. As Paul’s article makes clear, the delays in electrification are leading to some short-term headaches whereby previous cascade plans will need revisiting, and which are dictating new diesels for Northern Rail, for example.
This on its own makes the case for Government leadership - the broader strategic economic case means that this must be more than short-term firefighting.
It will also have to bring in Transport Scotland, Transport for London and the emerging devolved rail operations such as Rail North.
Whether it is through a more strategic role for the Rail Executive, or through Labour’s ‘guiding mind’, the next Government needs to grasp this and make the long-term rolling stock strategy a reality rather than an aspiration.
