SERTUC Transport Industries Network – ‘Round-Up’ for March 2016 to June 2016 Government, political, legal, unions, major developments, major companies, accessibility Government, Unions, political and legal How *not* to win friends and influence people – offensive remarks by DfT official Peter Wilkinson at a public meeting in Croydon led to ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan demanding an apology. Wilkinson called train drivers ‘muppets’, lied about drivers’ salaries and got facts wrong. Unclear if he believed that or badly briefed, despite being DfT’s £265,000 pa Rail Passenger Services Director. Mick wrote to Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport: ‘Dear Secretary of State, I am writing further to reported comments made by Peter Wilkinson, managing director of passenger services at the Department for Transport, on 18 February at a public meeting in Croydon hosted by Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central. I would be interested to know the extent to which you think Mr Wilkinson’s reported views reflect those of the Department for Transport. You may aware that during this meeting Mr Wilkinson was reported as describing train drivers as “muppets” who earned £60,000 for working three days a week. He was also reported as saying that drivers still had the same rest stops as they did during the era of steam trains. I am sure you will appreciate that these statements are completely untrue. I have no doubt a man of Mr Wilkinson’s experience must have known this himself. Do you agree that Mr Wilkinson deliberately misled the public while speaking in his capacity as a senior DfT official? Also do you think that the term “muppet” is appropriate language to use about the staff who deliver the rail services we rely on every day? Mr Wilkinson was then reported to have said that he has a plan to enforce changes to drivers’ conditions. He was reported as commenting that “we’re going to have punch ups and we will see industrial action and I want your support.” He was reported to have told the meeting “we have got to break them… They have all borrowed money to buy cars and got credit cards. They can't afford to spend too long on strike and I will push them into that place.” I thought it was in the interests of the DfT and all rail industry stakeholders particularly passengers to try and avoid breakdowns in industrial relations and not to seemingly relish it. Can you confirm it is the DfT’s position to “break” train drivers and by extension their trade union ASLEF? You will know that railway relies on the good will of train drivers in terms of flexibility and the provision of overtime to function. This will be necessary going forward to meet requirements for future electrification, and the introduction of new rolling stock. I find Mr Wilkinson’s comments to be both offensive and deplorable as well as being insulting to all hard working rail industry employees. All of this surely leaves Mr Wilkinson’s position untenable? I look forward to your observations of the comments above. Yours sincerely, Mick Whelan, General Secretary’ [ASLEF website, letter UNedited] Not given much publicity was the apology issued by McLoughlin a few days later. Even less publicised (according to Private Eye) was that Wilkinson has been banned from public speaking, not for being offensive but for exposing government policy… NetRail asset sales must safeguard future rail requirements – asset sales by the newly-created Network Rail Property will be subject to overview by the ORR and the Transport Secretary, said rail minister Claire Perry [having been made aware of the future threat to privateers’ profits if NetRail can’t expand the railway for them?]. Shadow Transport Secretary Lilian Greenwood MP asked Perry in a House of Commons question whether Network Rail Property will be responsible for disposing of the body’s operational estate. Perry replied that asset sales will only happen if NetRail satisfies its board, the transport secretary and the ORR that it is not in conflict with current and future operational needs. But – the newly-enhanced property business will lead on disposals. Network Rail has £50bn of debt by the end of the decade and is considering selling off its major stations and electrical power assets to balance its books. [Rail Technology eMagazine, edited and added-to] Another Claire Perry pronouncement… - “Franchises must put passenger comfort at the heart of rolling stock” - rail franchises will be required to modernise their rolling stock in order to improve passenger comfort. The government will require new franchise bidders (such as West Midlands Rail) to include improving rolling stock in each bid, and will pilot a scheme where new franchisees (East Coast, TPE and Northern) have to invest a portion of their profits in rolling stock innovation for the first three years. The DfT’s report also said it wasn’t acceptable that the National Passenger Survey found that passenger satisfaction stays below 80%. Rolling stock recommendations include new solutions to reduce overcrowding, potentially double deck trains and alterable seat layouts, while passenger comfort improvements should include ergonomic seating, wi-fi and mobile phone reception available as standard. In future (as if it doesn’t happen now) trains will transfer between TOCs and routes. To allow for this common operating systems for coupling, train management and train control are necessary (but no sign of actually compelling this) and a long-term approach to livery [undefined – will all trains of the same type have a national livery for each type of train?]. Also, trains should be designed to improve their environmental impact by reducing emissions, being more easily recycled at the end of their life, and ending toilet discharge onto tracks by January 2020 [which may be before the working life of a train is complete]. NetRail must work more closely with train manufacturers in order to ensure that rolling stock is compatible with rail infrastructure. DfT recommends that TOCs work closer together to develop common ‘big ticket’ items for rolling stock, including standard train heights and widths, vehicle lengths and door positions, lighter trains and driver advisory systems [this ignores the different national track geometries and permitted weights on sections/routes – mere detail no doubt, to be dismissed as socialist pessimism, despite being from someone who worked in a railway Control Room for eleven years]. The report also promises that HS2 train procurement strategy, to begin in 2017, will “set new standards in passenger experience”, and that the European Train Control System (ETCS) will be installed on all trains as part of the introduction of the Digital Railway. [er, sounds like the return of nationalised rail?] [Rail Technology eMagazine, edited and added-to] DfT position on (not-yet-published then) Shaw report on Network Rail – in a Parliamentary answer it admitted it no options were ruled out for NetRail. One organised ‘leak’ in the Independent of 22 Feb suggests NetRail generate funds for major projects by either sell-off or long-leasing its ‘major stations’ (London Termini, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, Newcastle Central etc), to raise £1.8 billion. DfT claimed all options from full privatisation to continued public sector ownership were valid. The Shaw Report was expected in March, with an organised leak by Shaw Report team head, Emil Levendoğlu, in early March at a conference on next steps for the rail network in England, suggesting it’s unlikely that Shaw will endorse keeping Network Rail entirely under public control. NetRail has made public its use of Citigroup bankers to examine selling off all or parts of its major stations to plug debt, set to hit £50bn by end- decade. Rail industry names also suggested foreign investment and private cash as forward funding sources. Concerns have been aired that NetRail’s £38.5bn Control Period 5 budget will be too small without private money, while National Infrastructure Commission chief Lord Adonis said wider sources of funding are “quite important” for bigger projects. [Rail Technology eMagazine, edited] DfT seeking advice on franchising contingency plan - the Department needs a mobilisation plan, should the normal franchising process fail, possibly for the CrossCountry franchise. In response to a written question from Shadow Transport Secretary Lilian Greenwood, rail minister Claire Perry said the DfT is currently consulting the Arup, SNC-Lavalin (InterFleet) and EY partnership on the CrossCountry franchise. In November 2015, the partnership was awarded a two-year £616,000 contract to advise DfT on fulfilling its duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993. The Act requires DfT to provide, or secure the provision of, railway services where normal franchising arrangements fail. [Rail Technology eMagazine, edited] However… The DfT is so strapped for resource and franchising is now so complex and fraught with legal traps that it can only deal with three ‘competitions’ per year, hence the sudden rise in ‘extending’ current franchises without competing bids, just to buy time, adding ‘Taxpayers main comfort is that if profits [which any competent accountant can reduce to zero at the stroke of a key] turn out to be bigger than expected, DfT gets a share.’ Southeastern’s (main shareholder, Go-Ahead) performance has continued to fall since its new contract in Oct 2014, including the ‘Javelin’ service on substantially-dedicated lines. Hasn’t harmed profits (= delays make money for the operator), as it has made ‘maximum profit-share