PROFIT BEFORE PASSENGERS?

The occasionally Wales based Westminster based Welsh Affairs Committee has condemned the "old and cramped" trains provided by Arriva Trains Wales. The Select Committee has noted that many of the problems associated with the rail franchise were down to "a huge failure" to allow for more passengers when the current 15-year franchise was originally awarded in 2003. 

Even Arriva informed the committee some of the trains being used were "approaching 4.5 million miles on the clock". That’s an equivalent to travelling to the moon and back nine times – but without any of the mod cons that the Apollo spacecraft had. Personally I would have some concerns about going to the moon in a 27-year-old spacecraft…but at least it might be warmer than some of the trains I have ridden in to and from work this and previous winters. 

The Select Committee Report has calculated that rail passenger numbers have increased by approximately 75% since the franchise was first established. No allowance for growth in passenger numbers and extra trains in the terms of the contract awarded to Arriva by the Strategic Rail Authority, a body scrapped in 2006, it was revealed. 

The committee was also told that the average age of the Wales and Borders fleet of trains was about 27 years old – if we think about the maintenance and reliability issues that come with running a 27-year-old car, then perhaps non regular rail users can begin to get a picture of the state of the rolling stock. 

The Select Committee was right to recommend, because of the cross-border nature of some rail routes are included in the franchise, that a protocol be established allowing English rail passengers' concerns to be heard by Welsh ministers. As was also noted by the Select Committee, this time, when the franchise comes up for renewal in 2018 it will be the Welsh Government who will have the responsibility to ensure there are improvements. 

Hopefully the Welsh Government ministers will pay particular attention to prospective bidders plans for the new franchise, especially as the current rail franchise holder in the running to compete for the new franchise. Those of us who are regular rail users have had to live with an often-ramshackle rail service, and will continue to do so for at least a few years more. 

At least from 2018 the decision on who will run the next Wales and Borders franchise will be made in Wales. This may only prove to be a crumb of comfort if the Welsh Government has the vision, the ambition and the powers to ensure that we have rail franchise that’s has expanded capacity, reasonably priced rail fares and a plan to grow our rail network.

OUR RAILWAYS

Plaid Cymru supports public ownership of the railway, and so we will continue to seek full and unrestricted control over the awarding of future rail franchises. In the meantime, under the current Westminster legislation, we will investigate alternative models for the next Welsh franchise that deliver as much public control as possible.

The Party of Wales will ensure that dividends and profits are reinvested and redistributed back into Welsh rail services through the most appropriate model that can be implemented. Plaid will work to protect all current routes which start or terminate in Wales as part of the Welsh franchise area. Transport for Wales will specify and procure a rail franchise that the public can be proud of.

The rail operator we establish through this process will:

• provide capacity for expected growth in passenger numbers
• benefit from profits and surpluses being reinvested back into the railway
• adopt one national visual brand
• integrate with bus service timetables, with community rail, the new proposed light rail networks and with active travel (walking and cycling)
• introduce measures to make rail fares more affordable, including a simplified fare structure with the option of an annual fee, paid via the National Smart Card, to cover all journeys throughout Wales
• have passenger and workforce representatives in its governance structure
• have a duty to improve communication with passengers through social media and station announcements.

 A Plaid Cymru government will endeavour to secure new trains for our country and are committed to investigating the different options for rolling stock ownership, including owning our own trains. We will secure improvements for the safety of the public on the railway network by improving lighting, CCTV and disabled access to stations, and consulting on an alcohol ban on late-night trains.

At present, rail infrastructure is currently reserved to Westminster, but a Plaid Cymru Government would actively work towards changing this and would aim to electrify all major rail lines by 2034. We will complete the planned electrification of the South Wales Valley Lines. The next line to be electrified should be the North Wales Coast Line.

Plaid will identify locations for new stations across the network.  and will  continue to invest in developing existing rail stations as hubs for wider commercial development and urban regeneration, including retail and co-working/office space.

The Party of Wales will also look to re-open railway lines across Wales to create new links between communities. As part of this Plaid will commission a full feasibility study on the re-opening of the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line together with a second phase linking Bangor, Caernarfon and Afon Wen near Pwllheli. Other potential lines such as Gaerwen to Amlwch, and the Amman Valley to Swansea will be studied for viability. A full report will be prepared on railway re-openings and new lines, setting the tone for a long-term expansion of the Welsh railway,

We need the urgent development of a South-East Metro, which will be sympathetic to existing communities. The aim of the Metro is to simplify travel across the region and provide regeneration in some of Wales’ most underdeveloped communities. We will work with local authorities and business to ensure that jobs are created in Valleys communities and that commuting can go in both directions. We want to see a similarly innovative and integrated transport system for the Swansea city region, and for north Wales and will publish these proposals within a year of assuming office.

A prioritised number of rail schemes will be included in the new National Transport Plan that we will consult upon and publish in our first year of government. Plaid Cymru will produce an exciting vision of a Welsh National Railway service, uniting the nation, north and south, country and city, community-to-community.

GETTING WALES MOVING

We need to improve rail services across Wales, planning to integrate bus and rail timetables and introduce new light rail networks, combined with active travel proposals, to keep Wales moving. Plaid Cymru has put forward a realisticvision of the future of Wales’ transport infrastructure, which includes investing in new light rail networks, community rail and safe walking and cycling routes. We also need to ensure that our public transport networks are fully integrated, so that it is as easy as possible for people to use it in their daily lives.

Lets be honest about the fact that when it comes down the revitalising of our railways (a vital part of our transport infrastructure) Wales comes of second best in comparison with Scotland and parts of England. Part of the reason comes down to the poor devolutionary settlement which failed to give Wales adequate powers in relation to infrastructure developments and part of it relates to a simple lack of will on the part of the recent Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff.  

A strong transport network is obviously particularly important in rural communities, which is why Plaid Cymru wants to create a fully integrated public transport network. It is worth noting that back February 2006,The Transport (Wales) Act, which came into effect, this gave the National Assembly powers to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system.

How much longer do we have to wait to see some real vision and action rather than words? In the absence of any real leadership from Cardiff Bay and Westminster the rail companies have continued to ramp up rail fares, attempting to reduce rail services, all with the tacit co-operation of successive Westminster Government's (regardless of their political hue) and the Department for transport (in London). 

Such duplicity has never been acceptable - it’s time for our government in Cardiff to take the long term view, to bite the bullet and actually put its money where its mouth is and work to redevelop our rail services, boost the development of rail freight and to co-ordinate rail and bus services across the whole of Wales. To do this effectively Wales needs to have full control of it's transport policy and transport budget devolved as quickly as possible and the franchise when it is renewed in 2017 needs to be run on a not for profit basis. 

The Party of Wales supports public ownership over the railway and we will continue to seek unrestricted control over awarding future rail franchises. When Plaid Cymru was in government we made investing in infrastructure a priority, and Wales continues to feel the benefit of this investment. We are ready to continue with this project, and invest in rail, road and digital infrastructure right across Wales.

In Monmouth constituency we need to ensure that our railway stations have more frequent stopping services and have safe, secure and reasonably priced park and ride facilities at Abergavenny, Severn Tunnel and Chepstow. New railway stations at Llanwern and Magor and at Caerleon / Ponthir would do much to cut congestion.

Our bus services need to be fully integrated with our rail services and our railway stations should be fully accessible with easy access to services for all passengers. The National Assembly should commit to redevelop and expand our rail services, as has happened in Scotland and some parts of England. Personally I would work for feasibility studies into a new station near Little Mill / Penperlleni and into the reopening of the line to Usk and the construction of a new station west of the town.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

On the 6^th February the 6 Nations rugby internationals kick off, rugby fans will prepare themselves for over crowded trains and the usual excuses from the rail franchise holders. On Friday 28^thFebruary Wales play France. Rugby fans will face the ordeal of a Friday night international match, with an 8pm kick-off and the logistical perfect storm that awaits them. 

Simply getting to (and from) Cardiff on a Friday evening, with the lack of late trains, and scheduled maintenance – may more than try fans patience. It will be grim for Welsh Rugby fans, travelling south and east to Cardiff before kick-off, but it may be even grimmer afterwards when they try to get home. 

Bitter experience relayed by supporters (and would be rail travellers) tells me that the franchise holders will run short trains, when these trains reach Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (not to mention Hereford, Lydney and Gloucester) they will be so full that passengers cannot board them. 

Prepare for the usual excuses from Arriva Trains Wales as to why this overcrowding problem happens and how it will be avoided next time. The reality is that the short-term rental costs of hiring extra trains would be cost prohibitive. The day the rail franchise moves to a not for dividend profit cannot come soon enough.

ANTICIPATING A PREFECT STORM

On Friday evening, the much anticipated 6 Nations rugby internationals kick off, with Wales v England. Rugby fans are bracing themselves for the ordeal of a Friday night international match, with an 8pm kick-off and the logistical perfect storm that awaits them. Rugby aside simply getting to (and from) Cardiff on a Friday evening, with the lack of late trains may more than try fans patience.

If it’s going to be grim for Welsh Rugby fans, trying to come south or east from North and West Wales to get to Cardiff before kick-off then it’s going to be even grimmer afterwards when they try to get home. Bitter experience relayed by rugby fan have told me that the franchise holders will run short trains, by the time these trains reach Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (not to mention Hereford, Lydney and Gloucester) they will be so full of people that passengers cannot board them.

Spare a thought for England fans, as the last London train leaves Cardiff before the game actually ends. Now much of the blame must lie with the 6 Nations organisers who once again have put profit before the interests of the fans and the game. Simply telling fans to go early, on a working day, on an evening (after work) with in some case little prospect of getting home at a sensible hour just won’t do. I seem to recall that Friday night games were only an experiment – clearly one that brings rich rewards to the Rugby authorities and immense inconvenience to the fans.

The usual old lame excuses are no doubt being rolled out by the franchise holders as to why there was no space, travel why the trains were short, etc. The real reason for the shoddy service is that it’s about profits, extra trains and extra carriages have to be rented and this hits profits and dividends.  The day that the rail franchise (in Wales and the marches) is run as a not for dividend profit franchise cannot come soon enough. 

PREPARATION, ANTICIPATION, FRUSTRATION…

With another round of eagerly anticipated autumn rugby internationals set to run through November (aside from a collective fingers crossed) across much of the former county Gwent (and no doubt elsewhere) rugby fans and rail users will be preparing themselves for the ordeal of trying to get into Cardiff on overcrowded (or full) trains). I have no doubt that the franchise holder will run short trains, which by the time they reach the stations (e.g. Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport) in the green and pleasant old county of Gwent, will be so full of people that passengers cannot board. Every year in recent years it has been the same with the same old lame excuses being rolled out by the franchise holders to why there was no space, why the trains were short, etc. The real reason for the shoddy service is about profits, extra trains and extra carriages have to be rented and this hits profits and dividends.  The day that the rail franchise (in Wales and the marches) is run as a not for dividend profit franchise cannot come soon enough. 

PROFITS BEFORE PEOPLE

The news that the ‘Big Six’ energy cartel members are set to double their profit margins over the next year (and this is according to estimates by the regulator, Ofgem) probably won’t surprise anyone. Back in 2013, Ofgem estimated that suppliers would make an average pre-tax profit of £53 per dual fuel customer (a margin of 4%). Now, in the year ahead Ofgem expects the energy firms to make £106 per customer (increasing their margin to 8%). Naturally the cartel members have accused Ofgem of releasing inaccurate figures.

Ofgem has said that it was further evidence that the market was not working as well as it should. The big six (and the profits they make) have already been referred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Ofgem has also written to the suppliers asking why the falls in wholesale prices last winter have not resulted in lower bills for hard-pressed energy customers.

As part of the on-going struggle with the ‘Big Six’, Ofgem has also announced that electricity customers will see an average reduction of £12 a year on their bills, from April 2015. This follows plans to limit the prices that can be charged by Britain's six distribution companies, which carry power to homes and businesses. The price curbs could affect 29 million English, Scottish and Welsh energy customers. Ofgem's plans will also see the distribution companies spend £ 17 billion pounds to upgrade their networks. The distribution element makes up about 8% of a typical dual-fuel bill and is the only part controlled directly by Ofgem.

Five out of the six network companies (UK Power Networks, Northern Power Grid, SP Energy Networks, SSE Power Distribution and Electricity North West) were ordered by Ofgem to cut their prices. So far, only Western Power Distribution had its pricing and investment plans approved by Ofgem. The new energy prices will apply for eight years, from April 2015 until 2023. Ofgem will announce a final decision on the proposals in November 2014 after carrying out a consultation.

While this may bring a crumb of comfort to hard-pressed customers, it fails to address the fundamental problem with the so-called energy free market. The ‘Big Six’ can do because they are pretty much free from any meaningful and effective regulation. Any criticisms that may periodically emanate from Westminster can be pretty much ignored as the Westminster based political parties have little appetite to reform the deeply flawed energy market and even less inclination to curb the excesses of the ‘Big Six’ energy cartel members.

Meanwhile, in Wales, Plaid has been argued the case for the establishment of a ‘not for dividend profit’ company, simular to Glas Cymru which works within our water industry. This would firmly ensure that customers come before shareholders dividends and the City of London. An all Wales ‘not for dividend profit’ energy company would mean that all the profits would be reinvested back into the energy sector in our country. This would also ensure that Welsh families, households and small and larger businesses get a good deal on their energy and our country will end up with secure sustainable energy supplies.

NO AMBITION AND NO VISION!

Politicians and governments are often condemned for their lack of ambition or their lack of the vision thing, but, somewhat more rarely are they condemned for lacking both the vision and the ambition. Yet both the Welsh and UK Governments have displayed a craven lack of ambition and pretty much a complete lack of vision when it comes to developing Wales' railway network.

Both Westminster and Cardiff have failed to take advantage of existing and new EU funding programmes which are available to improve and develop our railways. So rather than seizing the initiative to invest in and improve our railway infrastructure both Governments have sat on their hands and allowed potential funding opportunities to pass them by.

Almost by accident rather than by design, one might think, some of the powers needed to develop and develop our railway system are already possessed by the National Assembly. The Transport (Wales) Act came into effect in February 2006 and gave the National Assembly powers to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system, so how much longer do we have to wait to see some vision?”

We need to develop the long term view and invest in our rail services; we need to further develop rail freight and co-ordinate rail and bus services across the whole of Wales and we need to have full control of its transport policy, transport budget and the related planning regulations. There is considerable room for improvement when it comes to the provision and development of our railway services here in Wales.

When the franchise is renewed in 2018 the railways in Wales should be run on a not for dividend profit basis, with all profits accrued being ring fenced and reinvested into our railways. The healthy profits run up during the period when the East Coast mainline serve has been run by the Westminster Government after the collapse of the private franchise shows what could and should be achieved here in Wales.  

SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT…

Making tracks for Cymru / Wales?

The study for the Campaign for Better Transport, which makes interesting reading, shows that rail services in Wales are used less, have lower levels of passenger satisfaction, are lagging behind other parts of the UK and could be improved by devolving responsibility for our railways from Westminster to Wales. The report was released as details were released of a £ 24 million pounds ( includes £17m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) £ 5.1 million pounds from the Welsh Government, £ 700,000 pounds from Network Rail, and £ 400,000 pounds from Arriva Trains Wales) for much needed upgrades of railway stations at Rhyl, Aberystwyth, Pontypridd, Port Talbot Parkway and Ystrad Mynach. Improvements to the five railway stations will see welcome improvements to customer facilities, better access, increased capacity and more park and ride spaces.

The devolved Scottish rail service has delivered more and fared better than our rail service which is still managed by Whitehall. Discussions between the Department for Transport and the Welsh government in relation to scoping out the feasibility of devolving responsibilities for the rail franchise held until 2018 by Arriva Trains Wales are said to be on-going. Any comparison between Scotland and Wales is pretty much always going to be stark, with devolved management of services in Scotland consistently delivering significantly better results than the equivalent un-devolved management of services in Wales. Wales and Welsh interests are always going to come pretty low down the list in the priorities of a largely England focused Whitehall government department.  

There is considerable room for improvement when it comes to the provision and development of our railway services here in Wales. Firstly, full control of the transport budget and related planning regulations needed to be devolved to the Welsh Government and secondly when the franchise is renewed in 2018 the railways in Wales should be run on a  not for dividend profit basis, with all profits being ring fenced and reinvested into our railways. The healthy profits run up during the period when the East Coast mainline serve has been run by the Westminster Government after the collapse of the private franchise shows what could possibly be achieved here in our country.   

A WELSH NATIONAL ENERGY FIRM

Plaid Cymru Shadow Energy Minister Llyr Gruffydd has rightly called for a new Welsh energy company to break the stranglehold of the Big Six energy cartel members on the energy market. Wales needs a ‘not for dividend profit’ company, along the lines of the way Glas Cymru works within our water industry. This would firmly ensure that customers come before shareholders dividends and the City of London. An all Wales ‘not for dividend profit’ energy company  would mean that all the profits would be reinvested back into the energy sector in our country. This would ensure that Welsh families, households and small and larger businesses get a good deal on their energy and our country will end up with secure sustainable energy supplies. 

Plaid Cymru Shadow Energy Minister Llyr Gruffydd said:

“For far too long, the big six energy companies have hiked their prices when the wholesale cost of energy goes up but don’t bring it down when they reduce.

“A Welsh national energy company, an Ynni Cymru, would follow the same successful model as Glas Cymru has done in the water industry.

“This Welsh energy company would buy gas and electricity at wholesale prices and sell direct to Welsh consumers and businesses.

“The company could be set up by the government at arms-length.

“Profits made would be used for protecting consumers from volatile wholesale prices and introducing energy efficiency measures to keep costs down for families and households.

“When we see that gas price hikes were the highest in Europe in 2011, and have risen consistently, then it is clear that families have not been best served by the private energy market.

“Plaid Cymru believes that we should move towards a system where investment and long-term development take priority ahead of shareholders’ profits.

“That is why at our party conference this weekend we will be having detailed discussion about the energy industry, including how we can ensure best value for hard-pressed families and a long-term energy policy for Wales.”