ALLEGATIONS about the safety of soon-to-be-nationalised services run by National Express could not be any more serious.
Transport Minister Paul Clark has been so alarmed by claims made to him by staff he fears a major accident is "just around the corner" while unions say services must be brought into public ownership as soon as possible.
Passengers on the East Coas
t Main Line need no reminding of the dangers of a lack of attention to safety after the Hatfield rail crash in 2000 which triggered major maintenance upgrades and months
of disruption across
the network.
Safety must come first and last. National Express admits some staff reductions have been made but it says it would never compromise on safety and firmly denies operating trains with brake defects.
The company was this week stripped of the East Coast franchise as it struggles to make services pay on the route and the concerns raised are not linked to the decision.
But in the coming months and years this Government and its successor have major decisions to make over the future of the railways, quite apart from the vital go-ahead for high-speed rail links to the North.
It is clear the franchising system for private operators is failing, particularly in the current financial climate, to give the public services they deserve and need.
Passengers cannot be asked indefinitely to fund improvements to services through swingeing rises in ticket prices if Ministers are serious about getting more people out of their cars.
Public transport has never been afforded the priority it deserves in Britain. This cannot continue.
