Why Transport Secretary Phil Hammond was right to give Thameslink contract to Siemens

From: Daily Telegraph

Transport Secretary Phil Hammond was right to award the controversial Thameslink train contract to Siemens earlier this year and right to resist calls for the decision to be reviewed, or the procurement process reopened. So says Damian Reece of the Daily Telegraph.

Siemens won the deal fair and square. The fact the trains will eventually be built in Germany should be a relatively small detail for an internationally competitive country, which the UK aspires to be.

True, the incumbent supplier, Canada’s Bombardier, promptly announced 1,400 eventual job losses as a result of losing the contract but Siemens intends to create 2,000 jobs in the UK, including 1,400 to build depots and maintain trains and 600 in the supply chain. The company already employs 16,000 people here in 13 factories, with £1bn of manufacturing exports from the UK. It’s been here for 168 years, built the telegraph line from London to Calcutta and laid the first sea cable from England to the US. It invests £80m to £90m a year in R&D.

Siemens UK is one of the country’s finest companies and Bombardier’s failure to compete should not be turned into a witch hunt against it.

To rescind a contract would also reveal the UK government as an untrustworthy partner and make the UK a far less attractive investment destination.

What the Coalition could legitimately do in the wake of the Bombardier decision is review how future contracts are awarded and bring them in line with wider European practice. This could help employment here but value for money is also crucial. The best way to secure UK jobs is to have competitive UK companies – which requires lower tax and less regulation.

Heathrow £500m rail link plan consideration

From: BBC News

UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is said to be drawing up plans for a £500m rail scheme linking Wales with Heathrow Airport.

A proposed new spur from the Great Western main line would end the need for passengers to travel in to London before heading out to the airport.

The scheme, to include the west of England, would also connect with the proposed HS2 high speed rail link.

The Department for Transport estimated it could cut 30 minutes off journeys.

The Sunday Times newpaper reported Mr Hammond was considering building a new railway station at Heathrow that would see up to four shuttle services per hour from Reading.

The new airport railway station would also take trains direct from Cardiff and Bristol, it said.

It would also be a hub for the High Speed Two (HS2) rail link, it added.

The Department of Transport has declined to comment but Whitehall sources said the plan would:

• Cut journey times by 30 minutes
• Fit in with the proposals for the high speed rail network – subject to consultation – and if it goes ahead it will be an intergrated transport hub at Heathrow
• Allow rail travellers from Wales to pick up the high-speed line for journeys to the midlands, the north and Scotland.

The UK coalition government had confirmed that a £1bn electrification of the main rail line between London and Cardiff, announced by the previous Labour government in 2009, is to go ahead.

The Welsh Government has called for the full electrification of the line to Swansea.

Tony Miles, who writes for Modern Railways magazine, told Radio Wales the scheme would involve creating about five miles of new railway as well as amending some existing facilities.

He said: “It wouldn’t be a through service from Cardiff and Swansea and so on. I think that would be fairly impractical.

“What I gather from proposals that have been talked about by business leaders is to have a shuttle service of some sort that picks up at Reading and goes straight in to terminal five.

“A lot of people are problaby getting off at Reading and getting the bus at the moment, which is a much more inconvenient way of doing it, pariculary if you have a lot of luggage.”

The proposed new airport link would not be possible until after the electrification of the south Wales mainline, he said.

The Sunday Times reported the Department of Transport as believing the link and airport transport hub could be open by 2021.

Coalition Government reveals new measures to tackle fare evasion

As part of the McNulty Report, several areas have been analysed to find out where cost savings and revenue generation can be achieved.  Due to the large amount of fare evasion on the UK rail network, the Coalition have decided to act.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce the Government’s solution to the problem of fare evasion;

A Government spokesperson was quoted as saying. “The new rolling stock is perfect for tackling fare evasion as those who fare evade will seriously consider their future after riding one.”

 

Review to be published into government’s £32bn HS2 plan

From BBC News.

An independent review of the £32bn HS2 London to Birmingham high-speed rail project is to published.

The House of Commons transport committee announced it had asked a consultancy firm to look into the business case for the scheme.

The review will be published on Tuesday, when the committee holds the first of five evidence sessions on HS2.

The first phase of HS2, from London to Birmingham, is due to be open in 2026, with extensions further north later.

A Y-shaped section taking branches to Manchester, Leeds and possibly further north could be finished by 2033.

The chairman of the committee, Labour MP Louise Ellman, said: “The review is a guide for us. We felt we needed it. This is a project of great importance and also of great controversy.”

HS2 is a central facet of the coalition government’s transport policy and was touted as an alternative to the third runway at Heathrow when the government scrapped it following last year’s election.

The review looked at the overall business case rather than the details of the route, which passes through several beauty spots as well as a large swathe of suburbs in north-west London.

A total of 190 organisations have submitted evidence to the committee but Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is not expected to answer questions until 13 September.