4 June 2010
UK transport minister's views on rail rolling stock orders a cause for concern
Transform Scotland board member Calum McCallum said:
"Transport Minister Phil Hammond's latest comments, on June 4th, regarding
on-going investment in the rail network cause great concern for the direction of
transport policy in the new Tory-LibDem UK government.
"Whilst transport is largely a devolved issue, DfT policy has consequences
for Scotland as they specify cross-border services, and this announcement
could affect the replacement of ageing trains operating services from
London to Aberdeen and Inverness.
"More than that, though, the NAO report appears not yet to have reached a
conclusion on whether or not the proposed additional capacity offers value
for money, but the Minister seems to have prejudged this outcome,
signaling an anti-public transport bias and against railways in
particular.
"Re-examining the InterCity Express Programme (IEP) is to be generally
welcomed, as there is opinion within the railway industry that this
project has become seriously expensive and over-specified. However, that
does not detract from the fact that attracting more people onto trains is
a key element of reducing the carbon output from transport and increasing
capacity - or decreasing overcrowding - is an important part of that.
"We would always support the quest for value for money in transport
procurement but we fear that the Minister's statement indicates a jibe at
an easy target. Reducing expenditure on public transport is not the way
to achieve the government's emissions targets - even at a time of
financial stringency."