Lib Dems Call for South East Trains to Remain in Public Hands

5.43.04pm GMT Wed 24th Mar 2004

Liberal Democrat London Spokesman, Simon Hughes and Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, John Thurso MP, have today tabled a Commons motion calling for South East Trains to be kept in public hands to see how well it performs over time compared to privatised parts of the network.

The Early Day Motion highlights that the management of South East Trains has only been in the public hands for four months yet is likely to be put back in the hands of private managers before a proper review of cost savings and improved performance has been undertaken.

This is especially important as there has been a five-fold increase in regulatory staff since privatisation and costs in the industry have escalated out of control.

Simon Hughes said:-"London commuters have suffered with massive rises in the cost of their rail fares, increasing delays, constant disruption and uncertainty. Dogmatically working to place the company firm that was created in the public sector just four months ago back into the hands of the private sector when it may be beginning to show the first signs of improvement appears bloody minded. It is time Ministers worried about getting the best performance and the best value for money from our rail network rather than taking a knee jerk decision to putting South East trains back into private hands."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary John Thurso MP added: "Since privatisation, staffing in the rail industry has sky rocketed, with the number of people involved in regulation increasing four-fold. At the same time, the SRA has poured money into external contracts, with costs reaching £20m over nine months in 2002. But the Government may just as well have burned that money. Under Labour, delays have doubled, one in five trains are late, and there's no sign of improvement. Things can't go on like this. We need a safe, reliable and affordable railway."

"With the Railway Review, the Government has finally admitted there is a problem and action is needed immediately. Simply placing South Eastern Trains back into the private sector would mean we lose a golden opportunity to fully understand how we should make the best use of passenger and taxpayers money for our railways."