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24.12.07

Railways condemned for leaving Britain stranded on Boxing Day
Ben Webster: Transport Correspondent


Rail companies will be closing their networks until Thursday morning from about 8pm tonight after rejecting demands for at least a basic service on Boxing Day.

Britain is the only major European country that will be without a rail service on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, despite huge growth in demand. The quarter of British households without access to a car will struggle to get to Boxing Day sports fixtures. The sales will be under way – but only those with cars are likely to benefit: trains do not resume until after 6am on the 27th.

A cross-party group of 28 MPs has signed an early day motion condemning the Department for Transport and rail companies for leaving people stranded. The motion, tabled by John Grogan, the Labour MP for Selby, “ex-presses deep disappointment that once again during this festive season the UK’s railways will undergo a 58-hour shutdown with no services being provided on the overwhelming majority of lines and that in most areas there will be no buses running,” noting, “this is in stark contrast to the rest of Europe”.
It calls on the department and train companies “to ensure that from 2008 an adequate rail and bus service is provided on Boxing Day at least”.

A year ago the Association of Train Operating Companies acknowledged the rise in demand for Christmas travel and promised to consider providing services on Boxing Day. George Muir, the director-general, said: “We will have to look at this again because people are now more mobile on Boxing Day.”

Yesterday the association dismissed the idea, saying that its members would run services only if they received extra subsidy. A spokesman said: “Train companies are not in the business of running services they know will lose money. Undoubtedly there would be some demand, but not enough to justify a commercial service.”
Asked what message the association had for those dependent on trains, he said: “I suppose we would say, ‘Sorry’.”
Mr Grogan said: “It’s completely inconsistent for the Department for Transport to say you should use public transport and then shut down the system for 58 hours. Companies should be obliged, in their franchise agreements, to run services over Christmas.

“If you want to see your relatives and you don’t have a car, you are forced to spend three nights with them. For many people, 24 hours is quite enough.”
In London, a limited Underground and bus service will operate on Boxing Day. Most other cities have only a few services.

On Christmas Eve – the big day for much of the Continent – France, Germany and the Netherlands will run normal services, although these will end early. On Christmas Day most European countries have a Sunday service; there will be three trains an hour between Berlin and Frankfurt.
Until the early 1960s British Rail operated services on Christmas Day from many stations. Having grown by 42 per cent in the past decade, rail passenger numbers are higher than at any time since 1946, when the network was twice as large.

The train drivers’ union Aslef would be willing to discuss Christmas working, but would want twice the normal rate of pay plus an extra day off.
Network Rail has claimed that it would be difficult to run trains on Christmas Day and Boxing Day because it does so much engineering work on those days. Yet the company is reducing the time it needs for this.

A Network Rail spokesman said that it would be relatively simple to accommodate passenger trains on Christmas Day and Boxing Day because most signal boxes would be manned to serve engineering trains.
A senior rail industry source said: “We will run trains if the Government funds them. They already subsidise the railway for 363 days a year so why not the remaining two?”

The Department for Transport to-day begins an “Act on CO2 ” campaign encouraging motorists to reduce vehicle emissions over Christmas. It does not suggest catching the train instead.