Better Transport

11 March: The Government has failed to prove its high speed rail plan would be green.

The plan suggests that the impact of the new line on carbon emissions will be 'broadly neutral', plus or minus 0.3% of current emissions from transport. Spending billions of pounds on a project that is simply carbon neutral is not good enough.

High speed rail could take away money, time and attention from improving the everyday transport that really matters to people. And if this is the price we pay to allow rich people to travel faster and commute further, it will be a disaster.

High speed rail must only be developed as part of a serious strategy to get people out of planes and cars and onto trains. The discussion has just started today - we'll be working to ensure the plan passes our tests before it gets the stamp of approval.

You can see our response to the plan here.

11 March: The Government is announcing plans for a high speed rail line today - we'll be looking at them closely.

High speed rail only makes sense if it's about replacing plane and car journeys, not just creating more journeys overall. That means if the scheme is to be a success, the Government must cut train fares, make domestic flights more expensive and stop expanding airports and building roads.

Our other major concern is that planning and building the new line could suck billions of pounds from local public transport. The rail network needs investment now. We'll be watching to see whether the money would be better spent on reducing overcrowding, rail reopenings and lower fares.

9 March: South West Trains is planning to cut ticket office opening hours at 24 stations across London and the South East. Help us stop them.

We think the plans would be bad news for passengers. Closed ticket offices mean less staff and closed toilets and waiting rooms. Passengers won't have help with buying their tickets or with wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Say no to the cuts.

5 March: Transition Town Worthing has been getting passengers signed up to our Cut Train Fares campaign. The group has a vision for transport and it's getting people involved to make it happen.

Transition Town groups like the one in Worthing are engaging local communities to respond positively to the challenges of peak oil and climate change. They know that if we're going to meet these challenges, people must have an incentive to choose low carbon public transport instead of driving and flying.

The Worthing group has given out hundreds of postcards - if you or a local group near you could do the same, we could have even more impact.

Order postcards or contact me to find out more about the campaign.

25 February: We've just had a tram campaign victory that’s worth crowing about.

Trams are hugely popular and they get people out of their cars. But there aren't enough of them in the UK because the cost of building them is often too high. This is because Government policy puts trams at an unfair disadvantage compared to other options like roads and buses.

For example, one of the big costs of transport schemes comes with moving utilities (water, electricity, gas mains, sewers) to make way for the new project. Under Government rules, tram schemes have to pay much more of this cost than road schemes do.

We brought this to the attention of Transport Secretary Sadiq Khan last year and argued that trams should get the same deal as roads.

This week, an all-party parliamentary group on light rail recognised the problem and said the utility cost issue should be sorted out urgently. Now Government needs to change its rules so that trams are more affordable.

9 February: As we've often said, passengers suffer when stations don't have proper facilities - like good lighting, cycle parking, bus connections. A new report suggests people in the North West have the worst deal.

Our 2007 'weakest link' survey revealed nearly 200 stations in need of urgent improvement and now TravelWatch NorthWest have shown that their region's stations need a lot more work than the Government thinks they do.

4 February: 59 MPs of all parties have called for rail fares to be reviewed. The MPs showed their support for our campaign by having their photo taken with Train, our mascot.

Politicians are starting to realise that they can't ignore the issue of high fares. If your MP wasn't at our photoshoot, you could write to them and ask why not. And if they were there, write to say well done!

2 January: Rail fares change today. I've written a comment is free article for the Guardian, explaining why the Government needs to bring down fares to make taking the train the easy option. Why not add a comment to let people know what you think? And if you haven't already, join the campaign.

4 December: The Government wants to increase penalty fares from £20 to £50 - but it doesn't always make it easy for people to buy a ticket.

Yes, everyone should pay to take the train, but at the moment passengers are often faced with long ticket office queues - or nowhere to buy a ticket - and a complex fare structure. Instead of increasing penalty fares, the Government should deal with these problems by ensuring that stations and trains are well-staffed and reviewing fares to make them simpler and cheaper.

Tell the Government not to increase penalty fares.

2 December: Earlier this year, we met Lord Adonis at York station and asked him to cut train fares. It seems he was listening.

Now that the Government is in charge of the railway line from London to Edinburgh, the Transport Secretary wants to review and cut fares to get more people on the train.

We've written to Lord Adonis to say well done! And we've asked him to go further by cutting fares across the country.

A photo from the York tour earlier this year:

25 November: In 2007, the Government promised 1300 extra train carriages to relieve overcrowding on the rail network. Yet all over the country, passengers are still packed in like sardines. Why are we waiting?

We've written to Lord Adonis, asking him to stick to the number of carriages promised and to deliver them as soon as possible. We encourage you to do the same. 

25 November: Blackpool South station is under threat. Please take a moment to tell the council why closing it would be a bad idea. [editor's note: This action has now closed]

18 November: We've published figures today which show how the Government's decision to change fares regulation is leaving people seriously out of pocket.

In 2003, the Government decided that regulated fares should go up above inflation each year. This means season tickets are now hundreds of pounds more expensive than they would have been. Let's tell the Government to stop squeezing passengers.

13 November: Later today the Government is taking over the East Coast rail franchise from National Express. We think this is a chance to improve things for passengers.

The Government is now in charge of the trains going from London to Scotland. What a perfect opportunity to encourage people to switch from plane to train! There's no need to wait for a high speed rail line that may or may not get built. The Government could start right now by cutting walk-on rail fares on the East Coast line, where currently only 54% of passengers think their ticket is value for money. Unfortunately the Government is not planning anything like this. Instead it wants to go ahead with the above-inflation fare increases National Express had planned for January. If you think that's unacceptable, join our campaign.

The problem is that the Government is trying to make money from the railways by asking for huge payments from train companies in the franchise agreements (and to make this money, fares have to go up). National Express failed because it promised to pay the Government too much money - £1.4 billion by 2015.

One of the reasons why the Government wants these large payments is that the cost of running the railway has gone up hugely since privatisation. So here's another challenge to the Government: why not keep the East Coast franchise in the public sector and see if it provides better value for money? Lower costs means more money can be invested in improving things for passengers.

27 October: Blackpool Council has proposed that Blackpool South Railway Station should be closed, even though it is used by thousands of passengers.

The Council has suggested that the railway line could be cut off at the Pleasure Beach instead of continuing towards Waterloo Road, Central Drive and the Blackpool Football Club. This would make it much harder to access the town by rail, which would reduce visitor numbers and increase car traffic and carbon emissions.

The Blackpool and Fylde Rail Users' Association is opposing the plans, and Aidan from Campaign for Better Transport Lancashire has suggested that the Fylde line should not be cut but double tracked and modernised to allow a regular service from the Fylde coast to Manchester.

We don't know of any other local authority proposals to close stations and we've responded to Blackpool Council's consultation opposing the idea. Please let me know if you hear of other proposals to close stations - if other councils follow this example then we'll never get people out of their cars.

In the meantime, we'll be watching what happens in Blackpool.

20 October: Reopening the railway line between Skipton and Colne is high on almost everyone's agenda.

Campaigning group SELRAP has organised a conference to discuss a funding partnership for the line, and the Conservative and Lib Dem transport spokespeople are both attending.

Let's hope the conference shows decision makers that reopening this line and others must be a top priority.

16 October: We've responded to an inquiry on light rail with suggestions for how we can get more trams in UK cities.

7 October: Last week, I travelled around the country to talk to passengers about our campaign to cut train fares.

Our seven day trip reminded me exactly why sky high train fares are unacceptable. We met lots of people who gave us all sorts of good reasons why the Government should stop avoiding this issue.

25 September: I won't be in the office for a bit - I've bought a rail rover ticket and will be travelling around the UK for seven days to talk to passengers about our train fares campaign.

Top Bristol campaigner Julie Boston will be coming with me. We'll be handing out campaign postcards at stations all over the country, from Cambridge to Cardiff, and from Guildford to Glasgow. We can't wait!

26 August: The Network Rail report published today raises serious questions about whether a high speed rail line is a good way of spending £34 billion. 

Lots of people think it's a good idea because it offers an alternative to damaging short haul flights. But the report predicts that a high speed line to Scotland would only mean 18% fewer air journeys. And 40% of the high speed rail journeys to Edinburgh would be new trips - people travelling more, travelling further, and generating more carbon.

Network Rail isn't counting on any overall carbon reduction from people switching from plane to train - because building the line would produce a lot of CO2, and because it doesn't know how the airlines would respond to the competition. The study does say that 39,000 tonnes of CO2 would be saved because of people and freight switching from road to rail. But that's only about 0.03% of transport's carbon emissions. We've got some better and cheaper ideas for how to get serious about cutting carbon emissions from transport.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis says increasing capacity is the main reason for high speed rail. But has he asked Network Rail to look at alternative options? For example, a freight only line would reduce congestion on passenger lines, and upgrading the existing West and East Coast mainlines by increasing line speed, doubling the track and providing bypasses would provide more capacity and quicker services.

Speed is not the only reason why people switch from plane to train - cost is also key. Instead of waiting until 2020 or later for a high speed rail line, the Government could act right now to make it easy for people to go green. Help us convince the Government to cut train fares and tax the fuel on domestic flights.

20 August: Passengers have a hard time trying to get the cheapest ticket, according to a report released today.

The Which? report says rail staff often don't provide the correct information, especially when there is a choice of company for a journey.

Train fares must be simple to understand as well as cheaper. That doesn't just mean simpler names for the tickets, but simpler options. Complicated pricing and time restrictions don't help passengers, they just make it harder. Instead, we need the Government to step in to make buying an affordable ticket easy to do.

18 August: The Government is pretending it's being tough on train companies by sticking to the RPI+1% formula for regulated train fares.

July's RPI figure of -1.4% means that regulated train fares should fall by 0.4% in January 2010 - but that will still mean a rise in real terms of 1% above inflation, as normal.

Now that the inflation rate is negative, the Government is trying to pretend it's standing up for passengers, but actually its policy is to make us pay higher fares every year.

13 August: Many passengers travelling on First Great Western trains to and from London will be paying 20% more from September.

The company has introduced a Super Off-Peak ticket with strict time restrictions, forcing many passengers to use an Off-Peak ticket instead - and they've increased the price of those by 20%.

Train companies can squeeze more money from passengers simply by changing the time restrictions on tickets. The Government needs to change the rules so that this doesn't happen.

But the Government also needs to change its policy of clawing back as much money as possible from passengers. The Government wants passengers to pay more so it has made agreements with train companies which mean it will receive billions of pounds in 'premium payments'. But the companies can only make this money by charging passengers more and more.

If you think this is wrong, join our campaign!

5 May: Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said rail journeys should replace short-haul flights, and is planning a high speed rail line to achieve this. We're delighted the Government has realised that many plane journeys should be made by train instead.

But high speed rail is only a good idea if it replaces flights, instead of just adding to the number of journeys we make. 

So Lord Adonis must cancel plans to expand Heathrow airport. If he is really committed to phasing out short-haul flights, this expansion won't be needed.

And if the Government really wants people to switch from plane to train, it must start making it easy for them now, rather than just planning for the future. Lord Adonis should cut train fares and tax the fuel used on domestic flights, so that people can afford to go green.

Join our campaign for cheaper train fares.

27 July: Our campaign to reduce rail fares received a massive boost after a Parliamentary Committee concluded that fares are too high.

Earlier this year I wrote to the Transport Select Committee about the cost of rail fares and the impact this was having on the environment. Their latest report, which you can read on the Parliament website, warns that the massive annual hike in fares (up to 11% for some tickets) is bad news for rail passengers.

The Committee agreed with us that longer franchises would encourage rail companies to invest in their network without the risk that another company would reap the rewards. They also want to keep the East Coast Mainline in Government hands to see whether state-owned railways could be better for passengers than those in private hands.

All in all a number of sensible recommendations. If you agree, why not join the fight for fairer fares?

20 July: If you visit many European cities, you will see quiet, clean, frequent trams instead of cars hooting at each other. But in this country, we only have a few trams because Government guidance makes it very hard to introduce them.

For example, local authorities must pay 25% of the cost of building a tram, but only 10% of the cost of a road or bus scheme.

The Government is now reviewing its guidance, so, together with the Passenger Transport Executive Group (which represents transport authorities in big cities) we've written to Transport Minister Sadiq Khan, asking him to stop discriminating against trams. More trams in our cities would improve the lives of millions of people.

15 July:  We're glad the Government has put out a strategy today for reducing carbon in the transport sector. But it seems to think business as normal can continue, with a bit of tweaking. It’s wrong: carbon emissions won’t fall if it continues with plans to build roads, expand airports, under-fund buses and increase train fares. The Government needs to go back to basics and come up with a real vision for what transport will look like in a low-carbon future.

We think people will travel less than they do now, and they’ll travel more by bus, train, walking and cycling and less by car and plane. The Government should be thinking about how we can get there, fast.

1 July: The Government is setting up a publicly owned company to run trains on the East Coast mainline by the end of the year, because National Express cannot meet its franchise commitments. This is a chance for Government to learn lessons and try to improve things for passengers. We’ve got three suggestions:

1) The Government must stop cutting its rail funding and increasing fares.

Deals between train companies and the Government involve large sums of money being paid back to Government. This means the companies are forced to increase fares. National Express wasn’t making enough money from passengers to pay back the £1.4 billion it owed the Government. We're campaigning for the Government to invest in our railways instead of squeezing passengers.

2) The Government must run the East Coast franchise to meet passengers needs, not the need to make money.

That means investing in improvements, and reversing National Express decisions to introduce ticket gates at all stations, and to charge passengers extra to guarantee getting a seat.

3) The Government should keep the East Coast franchise in the public sector and evaluate whether that provides better value for money.

This is a big opportunity for the Government to find out whether railways can be run more efficiently by the public sector. It should not relet the East Coast contract but should allow the public company to continue running train services in the long term, as a benchmark for other franchises, and find out if it performs better. Saving money means more money for investment, and better services for passengers.

15 June: A new report agrees with us: in traffic-clogged towns around the country, people are desperate for a railway line that would give them a real alternative to driving.

The report shows there is a strong business case for new lines to connect towns to the rail network. One million more people would have access to rail if the top 14 lines and 40 stations were built.

We suggest the Government should read the report carefully, look at our list of lines that should be reopened, and then get on with it. Many people don't have the option of taking the train. Giving them that option would cut carbon emissions and traffic jams.

11 June: A tram scheme in Nottinghamshire is under threat because the newly elected Conservative councillors want to cut the Council's funding for it.

The tram extensions would really improve things for people in the area, and our local group has been campaigning to make sure they happen. I've written to Theresa Villiers, the Conservative transport spokesperson, to ask her to intervene to make sure the tram goes ahead.

1 June: Caught on camera: When trains and planes fight for our business, planes fight nasty. It's not a fair fight.

8 May: The Independent has publicised a fact we've been highlighting for some time now: since Labour came to power, public transport fares have risen while the cost of motoring has fallen, undermining attempts to cut carbon emissions.

People are being priced off buses and trains and pushed into cars and planes. We're campaigning for the Government to change its ways and give people an incentive to choose low-carbon transport.

People agree with us: over half of the responses to the Government's consultation on its transport plan called for cheaper public transport fares and higher costs for motoring and aviation. The Government's response (pdf 363 kb)suggests they don't want to deal with this problem. But we're not going to let them ignore it.

30 April: The recession is no excuse for service cuts and higher fares - let's tell the Government to get its act together.

The recession means that rail use isn't growing as much as it has been. That's a good reason to cut fares, to encourage people to use trains. Instead, services and jobs are being cut.

The RMT has organised a demonstration this Tuesday - hope to see you there!

19 April: Yesterday, the Rail Minister told me he’d love for train fares to be cheaper.

I was talking to Lord Adonis at York rail station. I was there with several people to remind him that huge rail fares are a huge problem for most of us. He said he’d love them to be cheaper – but that that was up to Alastair Darling. So, come on, Darling, be a darling and cut train fares, so that we can be rewarded for choosing green travel.

Photo: Lord Adonis listening to our request to cut train fares

10 April: Keep your eyes peeled for an unusual train sighting. Rail Minister Lord Adonis is about to begin a six-day train trip around the country to see the railways at first hand – ending up in York on the weekend (according to The Times). 

It’s unusual for a minister to do such a thing so we applaud Lord Adonis. His trip is a great opportunity for you to let him know how you think the railways could be improved! You could hop on his carriage and have a chat or welcome him in York next week. If, like me, you can’t join Lord Adonis on the train, drop him an email. He’ll be receving emails during his journey.

I’m going to tell Lord Adonis that we don’t want the highest train fares in Europe. He should cut train fares so that more people can afford to go green by taking the train. The Government could pay for fare cuts by taxing the fuel on domestic flights.

Lord Adonis's email address: andrew.adonis@dft.gsi.gov.uk