Value test for rail services

Certainly an overall score of 83 per cent for services suggests that many passengers are reasonably content with their travelling experience.

Yet this must not engender a sense of complacency among operators. Dig beneath that headline figure and it is abundantly apparent that there are a number of important issues that rail firms must address with the utmost urgency.

First and foremost, there is a huge disparity between the best and worst-performing services, with some of those operating routes in Yorkshire faring particularly poorly in a number of key areas.

The survey of nearly 30,000 rail users found that the proportion of Northern Rail customers who rated their journey as satisfactory or good was just 78 per cent – the second lowest for any operator in the country.

Another local operator, First TransPennine Express, achieved the worst rating nationally on the crucial question of overcrowding, achieving a satisfaction rating of just 58 per cent.

However, it is in that all-important area of overall value for money that the rail companies most obviously fail to deliver. Having seen fares rise faster than wages over the course of the last decade – the latest being an average increase of 2.8 per cent at the start of this month – passengers are well within their rights to demand services of an equivalently high standard.

In far too many instances, however, that is patently not the case.

Rail Minister Stephen Hammond has pledged that the Government will press rail companies and Network Rail to provide better value for money.

Yet how realistic that is at a time when successive governments have used regulation to change who pays for the railways is open to question. It’s no secret that there is a concerted move for more of the funding to come from tickets and less from government.

Currently footing just under a third of the total railways bill, it is believed ministers now want to see the Government’s share cut to around a quarter.

With billions of pounds being invested in electrifying lines, building new stations and so on, it’s likely that prices will continue to go up for some years yet – making it even more vital that rail users receive a service 
that justifies the price they pay for it.

New doubts over energy park

THERE was no little celebrating last month when the Government approved the massive redevelopment of one of the region’s largest port sites.

Following months of delays and uncertainty, the decision paved the way for the new £450m marine energy park to be built on land near North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire and, even more significantly, the creation of 4,000 local jobs.

Giving the green light to the construction of Europe’s largest offshore wind park, all the talk was of unlocking the economic potential of the Humber estuary.

Yet now a fresh spanner has been thrown into the works with an application by Associated British Ports for a new quay on land that was earmarked for the development.

Despite some reservations as to the efficiency of such wind farms, backers of the scheme insist that, together with the proposed Siemens Green Port Hull development, it has the potential to deliver economic prosperity across the area and beyond for decades to come.

Certainly it seems odd that ABP has owned the land in question for decades without applying to develop it. Nevertheless it poses a potential headache if the company chooses, as is expected, to lodge an objection to the energy

park scheme.

That would trigger a Parliamentary procedure which could ultimately see MPs make the final decision as to which development should take precedence.

While it risks delaying to the start of work on the energy park, it is important that the correct decision is reached.

As such, it is imperative that this is based on an objective assessment of which scheme stands to provide maximum benefit to the local, and wider, economy.

Region’s hotels are recognised

IF Yorkshire is to truly cement its burgeoning reputation as a top global destination then it is important that the quality of the accommodation offered to visitors matches the splendour of the breathtaking scenery.

It is heartening, therefore, that travellers rate the region’s hotels and B&Bs so highly that no fewer than 13 have been honoured across six categories in the latest awards conferred by the popular TripAdvisor website.

This, it is worth noting, means that Yorkshire outperforms the likes of New York and Rome.

But then it should be no great surprise that the region excels in this area – after all, the proud tradition of Yorkshire hospitality, coupled with a time-honoured belief

in the importance of

offering good value for money, gives it an obvious advantage over other destinations.

And it is this factor that will ensure visitors from both home and abroad keep coming back for more.