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Government planning possible take-over of Southern rail – report Government planning possible take-over of Southern rail – report
(about 4 hours later)
The government is considering taking direct control of the rail franchise that includes Southern rail, it has been claimed. Ministers are considering taking direct control of the rail franchise that includes Southern rail, it has been claimed.
Rail Business Intelligence magazine said the Department for Transport (DfT) was preparing a number of options, ranging from splitting off Southern from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), to a complete “managed exit” to take direct control of the entire franchise until a new contract could be let. Options ranging from splitting off Southern from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), to a complete “managed exit” to take direct control of the entire franchise until a new contract could be let are under consideration by the Department of Transport, according to the Rail Business Intelligence magazine.
The plan has its own codename and a potential interim managing director has been identified, said the magazine. The news came as talks continued between train drivers’ union Aslef and Southern to try to resolve a row over driver-only trains, one of the disputes that has affected services for several months, as well as staff shortages and other problems. Passengers on the blighted route have finally seen a full timetable restored, with the suspension of strikes while GTR holds talks with the train drivers’ union Aslef, but the department is still adjudicating on a question of whether the company breached the terms of its franchise.
The talks started a week ago, but neither side has commented on whether any progress is being made. A small number of members of the RMT union at Southern went on strike on Wednesday and will walk out again on Friday. Commuters have suffered almost two years of disruption and delay on the rail network, a situation that has been exacerbated by strikes since last April. GTR claimed in 2016 that its failure to run adequate services was down to force majeure – the effects of industrial action – but the department has yet to confirm whether it is in breach of contract, despite months of review.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “Instead of dragging this farce out any longer the government should now do the decent thing, pull the plug on the GTR contract, take the lines under public control and draw a line under this shambles that shames Britain’s railways. The department said it was still considering the question of whether GTR was in breach of its franchise commitments, despite months of pressing on the issue from the transport select committee.
“As part of that process they should get round the table with the union and reach a genuine and lasting negotiated settlement to the ongoing guards safety dispute. Transport secretary Chris Grayling should stop pussy-footing about, get his act together and get Southern/GTR off the tracks before more damage is done.” The rail minister Paul Maynard recently wrote to the chair of the transport select committee, Louise Ellman, stressing that even if GTR’s claim of force majeure was rejected and the firm was found to be in breach, it would not necessarily lose the contract.
A spokesman for the transport department said there were no plans to strip GTR of its franchise, describing the report as “pure speculation”. Ellman said the latest reported moves showed the department is in an “increasing desperate situation”. She added: “Commuters are angry, the government’s own MPs are angry, and the transport committee can’t even get a straight answer on force majeure.
A spokeswoman for GTR said: “The article is just speculation and we wouldn’t comment on it. As you would expect there are always discussions with the DfT regarding the GTR franchise contract and our other franchise contracts.” “In the meantime GTR are picking up billion pounds a year, and the cost to the public purse from lost revenue is £38m – the government must take a decision. How ever unpalatable, they can’t let this continue.”
The department said it was still considering whether GTR was technically in breach of its franchise commitments. While it has failed to meet its obligations in terms of running trains on Southern, the company claimed force majeure to avoid further penalties, including possible loss of the franchise. Any direct control or hint of re-nationalisation would be anathema to the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, who has repeatedly stressed that there is no better alternative than GTR. The government’s in-house operating company of last resort, Directly Operated Railways, which ran East Coast for six years when National Express walked away from the franchise in 2009, has been disbanded. Engineering firm Arup and consultants EY have a contract to help establish stand-in, emergency franchises.
The claim means that it did not run trains due to circumstances beyond its control, mainly industrial action by rail unions. Despite pressing from the transport select committee, ministers have yet to rule on whether GTR’s claim of force majeure should be accepted. A spokesman for the transport department said there were no plans to strip GTR of its franchise, describing the report as “pure speculation”, while a GTR spokeswoman said: “The article is just speculation and we wouldn’t comment on it. As you would expect there are always discussions with the DfT regarding the GTR franchise contract and our other franchise contracts.”
Manual Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: “Anyone who uses either Southern or Thameslink knows that Govia Thameslink Railways shouldn’t be allowed to run a bath, never mind train companies. Meanwhile, talks are continuing between Aslef and Southern to try to resolve their row over driver-only trains. Planned strikes were suspended after talks started a week ago, but neither side has commented on whether any progress is being made.
“I spoke at a meeting at Burgess Hill earlier this week where the overwhelming consensus was for the government to sack GTR immediately. I hope this will now happen and for once, failing Grayling won’t chicken out – but I won’t be holding my breath.” A small number of members of the RMT union at Southern went on strike on Wednesday and will walk out again on Friday.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “Instead of dragging this farce out any longer the government should now do the decent thing, pull the plug on the GTR contract, take the lines under public control and draw a line under this shambles that shames Britain’s railways.”