Rail over-crowding to be ‘ever more intolerable’
By Peter Wozniak
Train companies are set to miss their targets for providing passenger spaces, leading to yet more over-crowding, an influential committee of MPs has found.
Individual franchises all have targets set for 2014 to increase passenger places to cope with increased demand at peak times. The Public Accounts Committee’s report said they would miss those targets by 15%, much to the dismay of rail passengers.
Margaret Hodge, committee chair, claimed that because of the missed targets, “the already unacceptable levels of overcrowding will simply get worse and ever more intolerable.
“At present there is no incentive for the rail industry to supply extra capacity without additional public subsidy.
Ms Hodge dismissed the possibility of further investment to meet the targets in light of the comprehensive spending review.
She added: “With serious cuts in public spending now agreed, it is imperative that the rail industry become more efficient – or the passenger will pay.”
The rail industry is under intense pressure from increasing passenger numbers as the country emerges from recession, with a lack of competition between franchises blamed for the failures in efficiency.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of pressure group Passenger Focus, said train companies were not providing value for money – and insisted the government needed to step in to increase the number of carriages.
“Overcrowding is only going to get worse as numbers are already back up to pre-recession levels and are expected to rise,” he claimed.
“We need substantial long-term investment as soon as possible to provide longer and more frequent trains to help reduce crowding.”
