MPs seek assurance on minimum service levels

An all-party group of MPs is trying to find ways of keeping the railways open on strike days. 

The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has come up with nine questions for the Department for Transport to answer on how it can get new counter-strike legislation (which became law earlier this year) to actually work, to ensure a minimum level of service. 

The DfT has yet to announce how the regulations will work in practice. 

In advance of this, the committee says the minimum service level on strike days should be at least as good as that provided on previous strike days, and must also be flexible. 

It also says that higher pay and training should be given to those taking on greater responsibility when they are expected to work on strike days.

It is also seeking clarity from the DfT about freight, including decisions on priority routes, and in the long term wants more effective co-operation and better working relationships between rail unions, the industry and government. 

TSC Chair Iain Stewart said: “The Government needs to make the first move. Only then will stakeholders be able to feed back on the practicalities, so that regulations can be fine-tuned and plans drawn up. The DfT must consult properly with the industry.” 

Read this article in full in RAIL issue 993 here

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