The franchise system has led to increased insecurity for workers in the rail industry, a former Labour Minister has warned.
Manchester Central MP Tony Wright told a fringe meeting at the Labour Conference in Bournemouth that his daughter worked for Northern Rail.
“There is quite a lot of insecurity because of the franchise system, and there are issues to address of making sure we have staff working in our railways with the commitment and morale that comes from certainty that their franchise has a long-term future,” he said.
Mr Lloyd said the Labour Government – in which he served for a time as Foreign Minister – had spent 10 years undoing the damage caused by the Conservative regime.
Although re-nationalisation might have been more sensible, if it were not to happen now, there needed to be a lot more accountability and consistency.
While the public made a “phenomenal contribution” to the rail industry, “it is less clear whether we get value for money”, he said at the event, entitled Future Transport and the Role of Rail.
“A lot of the investment by private operators is by the banks, and the public sector could have done that.
“We still have some of the highest fares in comparable railway systems, and the public is entitled to know why.”
Manchester Blackley MP Graham Stringer, a member of the Commons Transport Committee, said this summer’s Rail White Paper would deal with some of the network’s capacity problems, but not all.
He warned that the principle of spending money on the worst problems meant in practice that much of it would go to London and South East.
“When you invest in the South East you are giving a subsidy to congestion,” he said.
Northern Rail managing director Heidi Mottram said its passenger levels had been growing by 10 per cent a year, partly because of the improving economy and partly because of punctual and reliable services.
It is now working to improve the quality of rolling stock, currently 10 different types of trains are in the fleet, from the most modern to much older.
“We have to get that right because people will want to travel in a modern environment if they are going to abandon their cars,” she said.
Rail minister Tom Harris said ownership of the railways was the “elephant in the sitting room”. However, the Government seriously considered re-nationalisation in 2003-04 and it was ruled out, but not on ideological grounds.
He asked: “Can we now stop worrying about ownership and start worrying about direction?
“The priorities for passengers are capacity and safety, not ownership.”
Mr Harris added: “It is undeniable that the future for the railways in Britain today is as optimistic and positive as it has been for a generation.
“I am one of the few rail ministers who can say I enjoy the job, and it is a good time to be the rail minister.
“A lot of what is happening in the rail industry is very good, and there is now a culture of service that was never expected under British Rail.”
Mr Harris referred to the speculation about an autumn General Election that swirled around the Conference, warning that they could be in a campaign very shortly.
“If transport is as important as we know it is to the voters, we have to nail the Tory myth that Labour have failed on the railways, because we absolutely have not.
“The Tories have no answers to any of this, they want to do the same to the railways as they did with bus privatisation.
“There has to be political accountability on those rail services.
“Ministers, not privatised companies, have to set minimum levels of services.”