August sees ABTN cast its eye over the highly topical field of rail travel. The sector is seemingly never out of the news, particularly in the UK, where a fierce debate has been unleashed concerning the recently-released White Paper setting out the government position on railways for the next 30 years.
But it”s not just the UK where rail is big news. Europe too, is evolving to compete with the airlines, particularly on routes of up to 600km and with the advent of ever-faster trains from SNCF, Deutsche Bahn and Thalys in particular, rail travel has never looked more attractive.
We will replicate a classic three day business trip, taking in Germany and France (via Belgium) to see if the train really can compete with the plane.
It is perhaps the UK where rail travel excites the most controversy. For years, European rail networks ” notably those of France and Germany ” have poured billions of Euros into their systems to come up with some of the sleekest train operations on earth.
The British government under the guise of the Department for Transport (DfT) recently delivered its exhaustive White Paper, but with a new and radically different philosophical twist to its European cousins.
The Brits, quite simply, are going to have to pay more for their railways, despite already having a vastly expensive network. From 2009-2014 the government will put its hand into its pocket to the tune of ”15bn, which will compare to a ”20bn subsidy for the previous five year period.
The thinking is illustrated by the DfT. ”Having paid the bills in the difficult years when costs rose and under-investment needed to be tackled, we can now ease back the burden on the taxpayer,” intones the White Paper.
In other words, the UK train user will have to shoulder more of that burden and while regulated fares such as season tickets will be limited to inflation plus 1% increases, unregulated fares will presumably be thrown to the vagaries of the market.
But the government is using the increasing popularity of rail to fund its shortfall. Anticipated revenue is projected to grow 20% during the quoted period, matching the subsidy reduction, but the hard-pressed British traveller ” particularly the commuter ” is already shouting with outrage at the extraordinarily overcrowded conditions ” particularly at peak time.
Fare revenue will total ”40bn to 2014, compared to the ”15bn subsidy with a DfT spokesman telling ABTN: ”The government is looking to address this balance as deliberate policy between tax and fares but we are still supporting the railways. It is only fair and sensible to spend public money wisely.”
But it is precisely the unregulated fares that attract most attention. Passengers use capped fares, for example, season tickets, for work ” unregulated fares are for leisure; perhaps walk up passengers who want to travel on the spur of the moment. And in an age where UK air travel has never been cheaper or more in the headlines for its potential environmental impact, more expensive rail travel is not a political vote winner.
And while we”re at it, the UK appears to have firmly rejected any notion of a high-speed north-south link, while the French and Germans plough ahead with their sleek and lightening fast rail network. The DfT maintains that what it needs is ”immediate quick wins” to increase capacity and not a high-speed line ”whose benefits are uncertain.”
Er, uncertain to whom? SNCF operates a direct Paris-Toulouse service ” distance 516mi ” that takes a rapid 5h7min ” a comparison with a direct GNER service in the UK from London to Aberdeen ” distance 536mi ” takes a minute under 9h. Britain is crying out for high-speed but with the government”s Comprehensive Spending Review recently completed for several major departments, it appears the door is firmly shut on any UK high-speed link.
It”s not all bad news of course. Birmingham New Street will benefit from a ”120m upgrade with work slated to begin in 2009, while the hugely-congested bottleneck that is Reading will be given a ”425m cash injection to improve, among others, the Great Western Main Line.
The much-discussed Thameslink Programme will be delivered in two phases ” with significantly increased capacity by 2011 and the full scheme complete by 2015.
Some 1,300 extra carriages will be provided to ease some of the UK”s chronic congestion, while ”150m is to be spent around 150 British stations to improve mainly medium-sized interchange sites.
The UK has taken a very different approach from Europe. Many would argue that while the Continental sleek machines generate all the headlines, Britain is far better at providing a more comprehensive overall package ” i.e. on rural routes ” and at far greater frequency.
During the next few weeks, ABTN will compare both UK and European rail services ” from a business traveller”s perspective ” and see what, if any, conclusions can be drawn.