Labour reveals Tory Rail Mayhem: Corbyn pledges to deliver Crossrail for the North as millions of passengers face overcrowding, delays and cancellations

On Monday 3^rd September Jeremy Corbyn will travel the proposed route of Crossrail for the North, talking to passengers about their experiences on Britain’s creaking rail services and Labour’s plans for public ownership of rail and boosting infrastructure investment in the North. Labour has committed at least £10 billion to Crossrail for the North.

Labour will be holding its National Rail Campaign Day on Monday, with thousands of members from over 300 local parties talking to commuters at train stations across the country.

Ahead of the Campaign Day, Labour is releasing new analysis of rail services revealing that:

• The proportion of passenger trains across the country that were cancelled or significantly late has risen by 50% since 2010
• The proportion of passenger trains across the country arriving on time has fallen from 91.5% in 2010 to 87.8%
• Under the Tories, overcrowding has increased by over 25% on the top 10 most overcrowded peak time routes, which are now on average 187% in excess of capacity.
• The proportion of passengers that felt the punctuality and reliability of their train services was satisfactory or good has fallen from 82% in 2010 to 72% in 2018.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn MP said:

“The rail chaos unleashed by the Tories on the North of England shows their utter disregard for people living in the towns and cities in the North.

“For decades northern communities have received only a fraction of the transport investment that is spent in London and the South East. Labour will put this right by building Crossrail for the North, connecting the great cities of the north of England to unlock huge untapped potential.

“People’s lives are being badly affected by this chaos and the government needs to recognise that rail privatisation has failed. Labour will end this rip-off and bring our railways into public ownership so they are run in the interests of passengers, not private profit.”

Commenting on the new analysis released by Labour, Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said:

“The overcrowding, delays and cancellations on our railways is fast becoming a national disgrace thanks to the Tories. With fares up set to go up by 36% since 2010, it’s clear that passengers are paying more for less under the Tories.”

“Nobody should have to suffer being crammed into dangerously full carriages as part of their daily commute, but under the Tories passengers face this prospect, paying through the nose for the dubious privilege of being crammed into ever-fuller trains.

“The government’s blind obsession with privatisation is putting the future of the railway at risk. Labour will do what’s best for passengers and taxpayers by taking the railway back into public ownership in order to improve services and cap fares.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• Northern Rail’s new timetable is due to be introduced the day after Corbyn’s visit, on Tuesday 4^th Following the introduction of a new timetable in May, Northern slashed nearly 170 services a day in an interim timetable launched on 4^th June.
• HS3, Crossrail for the North, will help deliver 850,000 new jobs by 2050 and unlock £97 billion of economic potential in the North. Corbyn will track the proposed route, travelling from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester then on to Leeds and finally Hull.
• An analysis by the thinktank IPPR North found that chronic underfunding has seen the North of England miss out on £63 billion in transport investment over the last decade, with London getting £419 more per head every year.
• The Tory government has failed to invest in essential electrification of Hull to Selby and other lines, and delayed electrification of the critical Manchester-Leeds Transpennine route.

New analysis

1. Lateness

• The number of passenger trains across the country arriving on time has fallen from 91.5% when Labour left office (up from 89.5% when we took over) to just 87.8%.

 

Financial year	Percentage of passenger trains arriving on time
1997-98	89.8%
2009-10	91.5%
2010-11	90.8%
2011-12	91.6%
2012-13	90.9%
2013-14	90.0%
2014-15	89.7%
2015-16	89.1%
2016-17	87.7%
2017-18	87.8%

 

2. Cancelled

• The number of passenger trains across the country that were cancelled or significantly late has risen from 2.6% when Labour left office to nearly 4%.

 

Financial year	Percentage of passenger trains Cancelled or significantly late
2009-10	2.6%
2010-11	2.8%
2011-12	2.4%
2012-13	2.6%
2013-14	2.9%
2014-15	2.8%
2015-16	3.1%
2016-17	3.8%
2017-18	3.9%

 

3. Overcrowding

 

4. The table below lists the most overcrowded route each year since 2011 and the amount in excess of capacity. The most overcrowded route last year was the 04.22 from Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport which was 211 per cent in excess of capacity.

 

year	Train Operating Company	Departure time	Origin station	Destination station	Arrival time	Standard class passenger capacity	Standard class passenger load	Passengers in excess of capacity	Standard class load factor
2011	First Great Western	07.44	Henley-on-Thames	London Paddington	08.29	225	404	179	180%
2012	Heathrow Connect	08.27	Heathrow T1,2,3	London Paddington	08.54	476	786	310	165%
2013	London Midland	16:46	London Euston	Crewe	19:24	206	435	229	211%
2014	Trans Pennine Express	04.22	Glasgow Central	Manchester Airport	08.47	191	355	164	186%
2015	Govia Thameslink Railway	08:20	Brighton	Bedford	09:25	420	960	540	229%
2016	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1366	726	213%
2017	TransPennine Express	04.22	Glasgow Central	Manchester Airport	08.44	191	403	212	211%

Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services, 24 July 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-overcrowded-train-services-england-and-wales-2017?utm_source=e571d64d-0830-4245-b33e-771f5a4d9df0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

2011. The table below lists the most overcrowded peak train services by the number of passengers above capacity. Once again, the 07:16 service from East Grinstead is the most in excess of capacity – more so than any route since the Department for transport began recording these statistics in 2011.

 

year	Train Operating Company	Departure time	Origin station	Destination station	Arrival time	Standard class passenger capacity	Standard class passenger load	Passengers in excess of capacity	Standard class load factor
2011	South West Trains	07.32	Woking	London Waterloo	08.19	738	1209	471	164%
2012	Southern	07.32	Tattenham Corner	London Bridge	08.28	860	1324	464	154%
2013	South West Trains	07:32	Woking	London Waterloo	08:19	738	1,278	540	173%
2014	South West Trains	07.32	Woking	London Waterloo	08.19	738	1180	442	160%
2015	Govia Thameslink Railway	08:20	Brighton	Bedford	09:25	420	960	540	229%
2016	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1366	726	213%
2017	Southern	07:16	East Grinstead	London Bridge	08:20	640	1220	580	191%

Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services, 24 July 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-overcrowded-train-services-england-and-wales-2017?utm_source=e571d64d-0830-4245-b33e-771f5a4d9df0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

2017. c) The table below shows the average per cent that the standard class were in excess of capacity on the 10 most overcrowded peak train services in major cities in England and Wales for each year from 2011 – 2017. Last year was the second highest on record on average.

Rank of the most overcrowded service that year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
1	180	184	211	186	229	213	211
2	164	173	173	185	215	211	202
3	162	166	173	176	196	194	199
4	160	159	169	171	176	193	191
5	158	158	166	164	171	187	187
6	157	156	164	164	166	184	178
7	155	154	157	161	166	184	176
8	154	152	156	161	166	180	176
9	152	150	155	160	163	180	175
10	152	149	153	158	161	177	172
average	159.4	160.1	167.7	168.6	180.9	190.3	187

 

Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services, 24 July 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-overcrowded-train-services-england-and-wales-2017?utm_source=e571d64d-0830-4245-b33e-771f5a4d9df0&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

1. D) If the current rate of growth continues, by the end of the current parliament, in 2022, the average for the ten most overcrowded routes in that year is set to be over 100 percent in excess of capacity.

 

year	average of the top ten most overcrowded service that year	average increase year each from 2011-2016
2011	159.4
2012	160.1
2013	167.7
2014	168.6
2015	180.9
2016	190.3
2017	187.7	4.04
2018	191.7
2019	195.8
2020	199.8
2021	203.9
2022	207.9

 

Methodology: Figures for 2011-2017 are taken from Department for Transport, Top 10 overcrowded train services autumn each year, 24 July 2018. Calculations have then calculated the average growth per year, which is 4.04 per cent. Assuming this rate of growth in overcrowding for the next five years gives us a figure of 208 per cent.

4. Public perception on the railways

Since 2010 satisfaction of the running of the railways has fallen.

• In 2010 82% of passengers felt the punctuality and reliability of their train service was satisfactory or good. This fell to 72% in 2018.
• Perception of value for money on the privatised railway service has also fallen from an already low 48% to 45% from 2010-2018.
• Satisfaction with the ticket buying facilities has plummeted from 78% to 72% over the past 8 years.

5. The Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review has suggested that 850,000 additional jobs can be created in the north of England by 2050, with significant improvements in transport connectivity, amongst other investments, alongside a £97bn lift to GDP. John Cridland, Chair of Transport for the North, has stated that: “Central to powering the North’s future economy will be an efficient high capacity transport network capable of fully mobilising the workforce between the Norths key economic heartlands”. See Transport for the North (2106), “Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review”

https://www.ft.com/content/5009473a-3971-11e7-821a-6027b8a20f23

6. Labour will freeze fares for passengers affected by disruption through a windfall tax on rail company profits. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/11/rail-timetable-chaos-govia-transpennine

The North has missed out on £63 billion in transport investment over the last decade due to chronic underfunding. Londoners enjoyed an annual average of £708 of transport spending per person, while just £289 was spent for each person in the north of England. Last year alone, the north of England would have received £9bn more for transport projects if it was funded to the same level as London. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/01/transport-spending-gap-london-north-of-england-ippr