A tough test for Heidi Alexander: just make our railway services reliable
The IndependentThe best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The most shocking admission made by Heidi Alexander, the new transport secretary, was that the pay increase for train drivers awarded by her predecessor Louise Haigh resulted in fewer staff being available – because they could afford to work less overtime. The Independent’s transport correspondent Simon Calder provides a magisterial overview of the state of play: in return for an annual subsidy of £12.5bn, 100,000 trains were cancelled in the third quarter of last year, and of those that ran, one in three arrived late. The more palatable part of the message, however, is that if Ms Alexander can make the trains run on time, more people will use the railways and there will be less need for subsidy.
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