Posted 14th September 2011 | 8 Comments
Hammond admits rail fare comments were 'flippant'
THE TRANSPORT SECRETARY has suggested to a committee of MPs that railways are only affordable, in the main, by people who are better off, prompting immediate protests.
Philip Hammond was giving evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee inquiry into High Speed 2, when he was questioned about the likely level of fares.
Labour MP Julie Hilling wondered whether HS2 would become a 'rich person's toy', which would not be available to 'people of low or moderate means', to which he replied: "Uncomfortable fact number one is that the railway is already relatively a rich man's toy.
"People who use the railway on average have significantly higher incomes than the population as a whole – simple fact."
He added that it was assumed that travelling on the new High Speed line would cost about the same as the West Coast Main Line, "which I have said before ranges from eye-wateringly expensive to really quite reasonable, if you dig around and use the advance purchase ticket options that are available".
Mr Hammond later conceded to reporters that he had, perhaps, dealt with the question 'slightly flippantly'.
Stephen Joseph of the Campaign for Better Transport said: "Far from being simply 'a rich man's toy', trains are also vital for many of those on more moderate incomes who need to get to work, and the government will price many off the railways if it carries on with its plan to increases rail fares at three per cent above inflation."
Virgin Trains responded to Mr Hammond's description of some of its fares as 'eye-watering' by pointing out that its passenger numbers have been rising, "so we must be doing something right", said a spokesman.
VT added that its average fare was £26. "We don't run a railway for the rich, and in that we are no different to any other operator," the spokesman continued.
ATOC said the average fare charged on the network as a whole, including local and commuter travel, was lower still.
"We get millions of passengers from A to B every day – people from all backgrounds who travel on a range of different tickets. The average price paid for a single journey comes in at around £5 and the sale of cheap Advance tickets has doubled in the last few years, with almost a million sold every week," said a spokesman.
"The Secretary of State is right to point out that the benefits of rail are felt well beyond the people who travel by train. The nation's railways support jobs and businesses and play a key role in the British economy."
But Mr Hammond's remarks have come only a few weeks since an average rise of 8 per cent was announced for January. The government has confirmed that the cap on regulated fare increases will rise from RPI +1 per cent to RPI + 3 per cent for the next three years, as part of its policy to shift more of the cost of the railway from taxpayers to passengers.
Mr Hammond is also due to give his verdict soon on Sir Roy McNulty's 'Value for Money' report, which was published in May and set out potential rail savings of £1 billion a year by 2019.
However some of his suggestions, such as cutting the number of conductors and station staff, have been met by opposition, particularly from the rail unions.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
AE, C, UK
The £34 billion number that keeps getting banded about includes 66% optimism bias or thereabouts. Unfortunately, the average punter isn't aware of that and very often adds his/her own optimism bias on top of the £34 billion or assumes that even if HS2 comes in on budget, the price will be £34 billion. Assuming that the building of HS2 follows the same path as HS1 the cost will be nearer to £20 billion rather than £34 billion.
nick , welwyn
the rail market even with our crazy disjointed setup cannot get away from the basic laws of supply and demand. at certain times of the day certain lines and trains have more passengers then can be fitted onto the trains. therefore the rail operators have high prices at these times and the trains are still full so people are paying the fare despite the eye watering prices as mr hammond states.
the only way to reduce ticket prices is to provide a large amount of capacity which is where hs2 comes in. expanding existing lines would cause far too much disruption and drive customers literally back to roads and air for many years whilst the works were ongoing.
you do not have to use hs2 therefore to benefit from it ! it will greatly reduce the strain on the network, ensure that people are more likely to have a seat and mean that in some cases prices will be less !
peopel criticise hs2 for the allegedly high level of fares but then say that it will waste taxpayers money ! which do you want ? a basket of prices which some may not be able to afford or taxpayers paying more ? and if ypou cant afford hs2 then you can take one of the slower cheaper trains which will be still running on the classic lines.
how is mr hammond out of touch with reality by stating that some fares are very high ? and that costs have to be reduced ? and that the infrastructure needs a vast increase in capacity ? sounds very much like reality to me. dont shoot the messenger even if he could have delivered it less controversially !!
Richard Woodward, London, UK
There's a lot of anti-HS2 rubbish being spouted on these posts. Hammond was absolutely right, what exactly is the complaint? Mr Hammond is a very good MP and supporter of high-speed rail we've desperately wanted for decades. The moment he'll give it to us, idiots lay into him for remarks that are simply the truth. What exactly did he say that was 'uninformed'? Feels very lefty responses on here devoid of being able to accept truth and pragmatism. Shame really.
Stan Mason, Holmer Green, UK
Once again Mr Hammond demonstrates has lack of awareness of life in the real world, as he re-iterates his 'rich mans railway' stance.
He has already shown that he knows nothing about the flawed business case and the true environmental impacts related to the construction and operations of the High Speed rail proposal (HS2) for which he is responsible. He has ignored a much more cost effective proposal (by his own department) which would provide for higher speeds and the meet capacity demands for a quarter of the cost of HS2, and which can start now, not in 13 years time on HS2, phase l or in 23 years time on the final phase, by which time HS2 will have cost us £34 billion at todays prices
.He has dismissed any opinions which differ from his own as coming from 'Luddites' or Nimbys (not in my back yard), despite expert evidence to prove the accuracy of the alternative proposals. Finally he seems to be unaware of the advance in technology which will result in a major reduction in business travel requirements within the time frame of HS2 construction. He seems to take great pride the statement from HS2 Ltd to the effect thaty HS2 will be broadly neutral. If this was in fact true, it would be unacceptable against the governemnt target to reduce carbon emissions by up to 50% during the period prior to full HS2 operation.
Mr Hammond states that HS2 will reduce the demand for air travel from the HS2 destination stations of Birmingham Leeds and Manchester, forgeting to take into account that there are no air services to London from either Brimingham or Leeds, and that rail already accounts for 80% of travel between London and Manchster. He fails to understand that any domestic services that are replaced by rail, will themsleves be replaced by larger planes on longer distance routes creating more carbon emissions (as has already been shown) not less.Finally in claiming that HS2 will cure the 'north south divide', he has chosen to ignore expert data in his own proposal documnet which shows that if in fact any new jobe are created, then 73% of them will be in London, not the north.
Would YOU buy a £34 billion train set from this man? If Philp Hammond gets his way, you certainly will be doing just that.
jak, sutton, united kingdom
What Planet Does This Man Live On? Not Planet Earth Thats For Sure
ItsThanks To Out Of Touch Tories Like Him That The Whole Disasterous
Privatisation Has Been Foist On The Poor Travelling Public.Just Compare
BRs Last Operating Figures,They Pale Into Darkness Compared To The
Gravy Train That Now Runs Our Railway.
Rob Jenks, Weston-super-Mare, England
It's amazing that the Secretary of State, Philip Hammond, can appear before MPs and then excuse his remarks as "flippant" to reporters waiting to challenge him.
How much more of what he says is just flippant? Certainly, not the "eye-watering" fare increases that he has presided over and which so many passengers will be stung by for the next three years.
In November we are expecting Mr Hammond's response to the McNulty Report and I wonder how many of us will be confused about his flippant remarks then as he attempts to cut £1bn out of the rail industry. Our confidence in Mr Hammond's mastery of his brief is not helped by the way Virgin and ATOC have had to correct the minister's statements. Do we trust him to get it right with McNulty which could see so much change?
That is why I support TSSA's Together for Transport (togetherfortransport.org) as a campaign that fights against cuts that will affect both communities and jobs.
Robin Powell, Tamworth, UK
I can't believe the Government is still planning to blow at least £34 billion on a high-speed ghost train for sales directors. There's no way they're going to fill a whole train in each direction every three minutes every single day. So those on low and middle incomes will end up subsidising faster travel for the rich in the form of large and permanent Government public subsidies. It's not rocket science... Survey after survey shows that all people want is a reliable, comfortable and value-for-money rail service. Paying for HS2 means it'll be several generations before Britain finally has one. By all means spend money on infrastructure to boost the economy. But let's spend it wisely on upgrading existing lines and reviving mothballed ones - improving rail services you don't need to be a city gent to afford to use.
Tony Pearce, Reading, UK
Flippant but true.
Why do people get into trouble for telling the truth these days ?
Our local Station (Tilehurst, Reading) faces losing our Ticket Office which also means that the Toilets will close as well. I'm not impressed.