HC Deb 16 January 2001 vol 361 cc194-7
8. Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby)

When he last met representatives of Railtrack to discuss investment in the rail network. [143971]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Keith Hill)

Ministers meet Railtrack from time to time to discuss matters of mutual interest. Most recent meetings have been in the forum of the rail recovery action group.

Mr. Robathan

The news today is full of the crisis in investment in the railways. [Laughter.] As I have said, the news today is full of the crisis in investment in the railways. Can the Minister explain how the Government's intervention in the make-up of the board of Railtrack— which has resulted in a 10 per cent. drop in the share price—will help to lever-in private investment, which is necessary for the Government's 10-year plan?

Mr. Hill

It is a bit of a liberty for a representative of the Conservative party to talk of a crisis in the railway industry. It was, after all, the Conservatives who undersold Railtrack for £1.9 billion in a botched privatisation that left the rail network starved of investment.

When the Tories left office, Railtrack was £700 million behind with its rail investment, which the Rail Regulator described as wholly unacceptable, notwithstanding the clear difficulties experienced in the rail industry—difficulties experienced by Railtrack this year.

So far, Railtrack has invested £1.2 billion in the industry. At the end of this year, it will have invested £2.5 billion. Such levels of investment are unprecedented: they did not occur under British Rail, or under the previous Government.

Mr. Peter Snape (West Bromwich, East)

Does my hon. Friend agree that the problem of chronic under-investment in the rail industry goes back at least two decades, and pre-dates the botched privatisation by a long time? Will he reiterate, for the benefit of those who may not have heard or understood him earlier, that investment is currently at historically high levels? Will he confirm for those of us who worked for the railways that people who call for the renationalisation of the industry must convince us that the Treasury will make a better fist of running it in the future than it ever did in the past?

Mr. Hill

My hon. Friend makes a fair point. It is true that we are now experiencing unparalleled levels of investment in rail infrastructure. As for my hon. Friend's remarks about the oft-mentioned probability of renationalisation, the Government have no such plans. The rail industry has experienced sufficient instability in the aftermath of its fragmentation into 100 pieces by the previous Conservative Government. The cost of renationalisation would amount to at least £5 billion, all of which would go into the pockets of shareholders. We believe that, for such sums, there are better investment purposes in the rail infrastructure.

Mr. Don Foster (Bath)

Notwithstanding the Minister's view on Railtrack's position, does he accept at least that the City has, in effect, put Railtrack on the critical list, its credit rating might be downgraded and there is even talk of Railtrack pulling out of the second stage of the channel tunnel rail link? In those circumstances, what will the Government do? In particular, if part of the solution is to speed up already planned public investment in Railtrack, will the Minister at least agree to match that investment with increased public control over how the money is spent?

Mr. Hill

As for Railtrack's financial position, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that yesterday Railtrack announced that it accepted the Rail Regulator's review of its access charges. It is looking for a successful conclusion of discussions with the Strategic Rail Authority and the Government on the timing of certain payments due under the review. The option of an interim review of on-going maintenance costs and other matters with the Office of the Rail Regulator remains open.

The Government have told Railtrack that, in the next few months, we shall hold discussions with it in good faith, but that we cannot anticipate the outcome of those discussions.

Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North)

May I tell my hon. Friend about a particular transport difficulty in my constituency of Bury. North? It is possible to travel from the centre of Bury, South into Manchester, via the excellent Metrolink; and it is possible to travel from the centre of Bury, North to the very important town of Ramsbottom, via the East Lancashire railway; but it is not possible to travel from Ramsbottom into Manchester. Does he share my passion to renew for the citizens of Ramsbottom the rail link directly into Manchester that was cut by Dr. Beeching almost 40 years ago?

One of the options currently under discussion to re-establish the link is to gain access to track into Manchester for which Railtrack is responsible. Will my hon. Friend assure us that, in future discussions with Railtrack, integration with light railway systems and preservation of railway systems—

Mr. Speaker

Order. I think that the Minister knows what the hon. Gentleman wants from the question.

Mr. Hill

Mr. Speaker, as you very well know, as an old railway man myself I am extremely keen to see the restoration of any rail links where possible. I dare say that if I represented Bury, I would share my hon. Friend's passion for the restoration of the Ramsbottom link. A number of options are available for the restoration of such links. I recommend that he deals with his local authorities in investigating the possibility of a rail passenger partnership.

Mr. Robert Syms (Poole)

The Government must have had confidence in Railtrack's investment programme or, on 16 November, they would not have produced a DETR press release stating that The Prime Minister today called industry heads to a meeting at Downing Street on the rail recovery programme. The release clearly stated: The recovery plans will deliver: … sustainable timetables, which will be in force for all train companies from Monday— that was two months ago— with the prospect of steady improvements over the coming weeks and that virtually all serious current disruptions will have been dealt with by the end of the year. The end of the year has come and gone, but most passengers do not notice any great improvement. Indeed, looking at the Deputy Prime Minister's expression in today's Daily Mail, I do not think that he believes that things have improved. We now have a new date—Easter—for improvements. Do the Government consider that date to be the judge and jury of their stewardship of the rail industry?

Mr. Hill

As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister explained in answer to a previous question, the announcement before Christmas was made on the basis of promises made by the late chief executive of Railtrack. We are now aware, of course, that there is a promise from Railtrack that 85 per cent. of the system will be returned to normal by the end of this month, with the prospect of the entire system operating normally by Easter. We take that promise very seriously and we expect the rail industry to deliver on it.