Chris Grayling ‘set to stay’ in worsening Brexit row
Speculation that transport secretary Chris Grayling could be one of the remaining cabinet ministers poised to resign in the worsening Brexit row has been mounting, with bookmakers quoting the odds of his early departure at 10 to 1. However, a short time ago he was quoted as being one of the ministers who have agreed collectively to stay ‘to get this in a better place’, according to one Westminster source. As the crisis in government continues, accompanied by rumours of a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Theresa May, the railway industry also remains in disarray, with more RMT strikes set to be staged tomorrow on Northern and South Western Railway.
The first fleet of more than 50 trains for HS2 could be built on the site of a disused power station in Fife. Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Talgo says if it wins a £2.75 billion contract to supply the Phase 1 trains it will employ 1,000 people on the site at Longannet, which was the last coal-fired power station in Scotland when it closed in 2016. Other foreign rolling stock manufacturers have already built or promised to build new factories in England and Wales. These include the recent go-ahead for a Siemens site in Goole, after the deal survived a legal challenge to Transport for London’s award of a £1.5 billion tube train contract.
A Labour proposal to end the ScotRail franchise three years early has been rejected by the Scottish Parliament. The Abellio contract runs until 2025, but it would be possible to activate a break clause in 2020 and end the franchise in 2022. The government opposes early termination, but it has permitted performance targets to be ‘waived’ until June next year, to allow time for improvements. It also favours devolution of Network Rail. Labour had pointed to poor performance and the late arrival of additional trains, and members clashed over the reasons for poor performance.
FirstGroup has started talks with the Department for Transport over a rethink of the contract terms for South Western Railway. First has warned that the forecast profits from SWR are now ‘uncertain’, while SWR is also continuing its efforts to improve performance and settle its continuing dispute with the RMT. The Central London Employment mechanism appears to be causing much of the current concern, and SWR is the second franchise to question its effectiveness within a few weeks, because Greater Anglia and its owner Abellio are also unhappy with it.
The new rail minister is Andrew Jones, following the sudden departure of Jo Johnson at the end of last week. Mr Johnson, whose brother is Boris Johnson, resigned in protest at the state of play over Brexit, saying that not to have a further public vote would be a ‘democratic travesty’. Andrew Jones was previously parliamentary under secretary at the DfT between May 2015 and June 2017, although his responsibilities then did not include railways.
The introduction of CAF-built Nova 3 trains on TransPennine Express has been delayed, after commissioning trials revealed a problem with the braking system. The new trains should have entered service this side of Christmas, but the launch has been put back to January while tests continue. A TPE spokesman said: ‘We will not be introducing the Nova 3s until we are completely satisfied that the trains are fit to enter service. Work is underway now to trace the problem and put it right.’
The Scottish Government could be poised to exercise a break clause in the ScotRail contract in 2020, ending the Abellio franchise in 2022, but this will depend on the result of a crucial vote in the Scottish Parliament this week. Dissatisfaction with performance has fuelled criticism from politicians as well as passengers, and MSPs are set to vote in two days from now on a Labour motion to return ScotRail to public ownership.