This morning the Mayor put out a press release calling for the DfT to step in and allow Transport for London to “put a top Transport for London team in charge of the failing Govia Thameslink Railway Southern franchise.”
I don’t need to repeat the story of the catastrophic service that Southern-users have been suffering and it is understandable that there is a desire to ensure that something is done as soon as possible.
However “something” doesn’t mean “anything”. Whilst on the face of it bringing in new managerial control on the southern rail network sounds like a good thing, there would remain a great danger that Sadiq Khan’s proposal would backfire and cause more harm than good.
To understand why Londoners should have grave concerns over this proposal it might be useful to consider why Southern is failing. This post on the London Reconnections website is well worth a read as it highlights the seven different issues that have combined to cause transport chaos.
In short these issues are: driver shortage, rolling stock issues, London Bridge improvement works, ongoing signalling issues, reactionary delay, dwell time and the guards dispute.
A key point is that many of these issues are structural and will not be solved by a change of management. That is not to argue that a change of management would be unwelcome, but it is clear that it would not and could not be a silver bullet.
One issue that would be very unlikely to be improved is the guards’ dispute. TfL running Southern would do nothing to impact the RMT’s disgraceful decision to repeatedly strike over the removal of unnecessary guards from some train services.
Whilst the GLA Conservatives favour the banning of strikes on public transport and the introduction of binding pendulum arbitration in their stead the Mayor has opposed any move to stop militant unions seeking to blackmail Londoners using strike action.
There is cross-party support on the London Assembly for TfL to take control of London’s mainline rail.
This would create more democratic accountability and give London’s rail network the chance to benefit from the improvements that London Overground has seen since 2007.
Over that time London Overground has seen passenger numbers increase by 400%, whilst the service has become far safer, far more reliable and has seen approval rating skyrocket.
However it is crucial to understand that control does not mean TfL running the services themselves. TfL does not run the London Overground. Instead it sets fares, procures rolling stock, decides service levels and then keeps 90% of the revenue raised.
TfL creates the contract for the London Overground and then awards it to a private operator to run. This means that by taking on more of the risk TfL is able to benefit from a greater reward when revenue increases and service contracts can be tailored to suit Londoners’ needs.
The success of this approach represents a model for the future of London’s rail network. In contrast, Sadiq Khan’s suggestion that TfL should run the Southern franchise would be a huge risk.
Although it would be quite distinct from the London Overground approach, there would be a very great danger that the idea of TfL controlling London’s rail network would be irreparably tarnished and undermined by TfL trying to take on a role for which they are not properly equipped.
That is not just my view. The following three tweets by MayorWatch make clear that there is significant concern within TfL that if the Government were to agree to the Mayor’s request, we would all suffer the consequences.
There are those within TfL who don’t back Sadiq’s calls for early transfer for Southern, they don’t believe they have the capacity to run it
— MayorWatch (@MayorWatch) 20 July 2016
and a simple transfer of control won’t solve unions dispute, magic up extra drivers or increase DfT funding for the service.
— MayorWatch (@MayorWatch) 20 July 2016
Some say if Govt called SK’s bluff the service would remain at current poor levels & “damage” case for rail devolution.
— MayorWatch (@MayorWatch) 20 July 2016
The case for TfL control of London’s rail is incredibly strong. Let us hope that the Mayor’s desire to be seen to be doing something doesn’t undermine it.
The author is leader of the Conservative London Assembly group