Railing On

Set aside for a moment the irony of the Labour Party accusing anyone of hypocrisy, perhaps they have an alternative to the rail network shutdowns over the Christmas period?

Travellers visiting relatives or hitting the Boxing Day sales will face a standstill on the railways due to inaction by the government, Labour said.

The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, accused the Tories of hypocrisy for attacking Labour over the issue while in opposition but not taking action in office.

Large parts of the country will be without a rail service on Boxing Day, while some operators will only be running a limited number of trains.

McDonald said: “Tory ministers’ handling of the Boxing Day rail standstill is making it much harder for families and friends to visit one another this Christmas break. In opposition the Tories attacked the Boxing Day rail shutdown. They’ve now had more than six years to do something about it but haven’t.

As I said, for these charlatans to be using the word hypocrisy is laughable. However, the network needs renewal and the choices are fairly limited for large projects. There is no alternative but to shut down the affected lines. They could do it during normal periods and affect commuters or they can do it when much of the country is at a shut down anyway. There are fewer people trying to travel these few days than there are during the peak weekdays, so, yes, there is a logic to it. Sure, it’s inconvenient to those who want to travel, but it’s not as if it hasn’t been publicised with enough notice to allow people to make alternative arrangements.

And, frankly, it is probably better that the government isn’t involved for government is incapable of organising anything effectively. Network Rail are incompetent enough as it is, without Westminster making the whole thing a million times worse.

So, er, perhaps Andy McDonald can share with us his alternative solution?

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No? No, of course not. A cheap shot at the government over something that the industry has little ability to do any differently is about all he is worthy of.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Deciding the level of service on specific days is a matter for train operators. But we know some passengers want to travel on Boxing Day, and that’s why we have worked with the rail industry to ensure there are limited services on some franchises on that day, and that the scope for Boxing Day services is considered when we are planning future franchises.

“Network Rail and train companies have ensured that a large part of the railway will remain open over the Christmas/New Year period and alternative routes are provided where the lines are closed for essential engineering work, and that these are communicated properly to the public.”

Precisely.