Posted 24th November 2010 | 4 Comments

Transport secretary rules out national road charging

THE transport secretary Philip Hammond has been giving evidence on transport strategy and spending to the House of Commons Transport Committee ahead of his expected announcement about rail investment tomorrow.

Headlines
Parliamentary rail statement promised 'very shortly', but Hammond declines to confirm that it will be tomorrow

'Northern triangle' (including Manchester to Preston and Liverpool to Manchester) confirmed for early electrification

Adding rail vehicles in north of England more difficult than in south, because peaks are sharper and shorter. DfT is in discussion with PTEs over alternative solutions to capacity overload, including light rail

No date given for publication of McNulty findings: only to be revealed 'in due course'

Health and safety legislation in connection with overcrowded trains not part of DfT focus

Capacity planning should be a responsibility of train operators

Fare rises will pay for additional rolling stock, to add capacity to the rail network

'National road user charging' ruled out during the life of this Parliament (i.e. until 2015)

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • H. Harvey, Birmingham

    Have you noticed how often Hammond is fielded as the spokesman on treasury matters - I thought Osborne was the Chancellor Cannot remember who the Treasury Ministers were.- Can anyone.

  • Colin Brown, London

    I have said in the past, we are going back to the days where we have another low grade transport secretary, with no vision for public transport in general and rail in particular, he'll stay in his present post until he moved in reshuffle or is sacked for incompetence. It going to be five long years of missed opportunities. I hope that I am wrong, but I doubt it.

  • Rob, Leeds

    North not as much of a problem?!!! Typical Tory North/South divide response. Up North we get a bum deal again. Northern and TPex trains get horribly overcrowded at many times - not just peak. I despair!!

    Pity that there is no road user charging. this could have helped capacity demand on the railway.

    Overall, got a nasty feeling this Secretary of State is going to be anti-rail.

  • Joel Kosminsky, London, Britain

    The more we don't spend, the slower we recover. Every new pound spent is substantially re-spent, generating 'new' money over and over. We know this works; we need new trains, we need electrification, we need station modernisation, ideally UK-sourced to boost manufacturing and construction. Clearly I miss something as it's not obvious to others,