4 days ago
Network Rail accused of sabotaging bid to run private trains
Network Rail has been accused of 'dreaming up' objections to a new private train service from London Waterloo in a bid to sabotage the plan, according to the route's would-be operator.
Alliance Rail, which wants to launch a service from London to Southampton next year, has accused the state-controlled group of advising the rail regulator that there is insufficient capacity on the route without conducting a formal assessment.
Ian Yeowart, Alliance's managing director, said Network Rail also claimed that a level crossing and signal box could not cope with more trains and that there was no parking at the end of the planned route, even though his company had undertaken to fund any required work.
He claimed the group's stance on so-called open access rules – which will allow private firms to run trains on poorly served routes even after nationalisation – had become more hostile after ministers warned against granting too many applications.
'Network Rail's intention is that they don't want us to operate. They've always been averse to new trains, but their position seems to have hardened,' he said.
'Maybe they've thought that the mood music is that the Government doesn't want open access. But it's in an untenable position on this route because they know there is capacity, and so does the regulator. They're just dreaming up problems.'
Resumed service
The Alliance Rail plan calls for the resumption of passenger services on the three-mile line to Marchwood on the eastern bank of the Solent, where the station would reopen after 60 years. The track is used by freight trains to a nearby military port and remains in good order.
From Marchwood, the bi-mode trains would switch from diesel to electric power and run to Waterloo via Southampton, Basingstoke and Wimbledon. Alliance is seeking route rights for seven years, after which services could be extended a further five miles from Marchwood to Fawley
Mr Yeowart claimed Network Rail had told the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the regulator, that Alliance's proposed timetable was unworkable and conflicted with 24 other trains – even though information that National Rail provided indicated no such issues, he claims.
Alliance also claims that Network Rail could still have proposed changes to the timetable that would have allowed the new trains to operate, as it did with earlier open access applications.
Network Rail made its claims regarding capacity despite the fact that passenger numbers at Waterloo have plummeted since Covid amid a drop in commuter traffic, with the station losing its long-held status as Britain's busiest rail hub.
Network Rail itself received £7m of funding to develop a business case for the so-called Waterside Line – which runs from London to Southampton, under the Restoring Your Railway scheme scrapped by Labour last year.
The same trains, which would be fitted with intercity-standard interiors, could also carry cruise passengers direct to their ships using a mothballed diesel-only line in Southampton.
Mr Yeowart, a former British Rail manager who has succeeded in numerous open access bids over the past 26 years, said that with spending tight, the Government should make the most of the model.
Network Rail said it is for the ORR to decide whether Alliance Rail will be able to get the go-ahead for the route.
A spokesman said: 'As part of their consultation, we looked at the proposed timetable and found that only two of the 41 proposed train paths adhered to timetable planning rules for the route and 24 of them had major conflicts with other services.
'In addition to timetable issues, the Waterside Line requires upgrade work to make it suitable for passenger trains, along with increased Network Rail resources to maintain and operate the line. None of these are funded.'
