Rail chief's rural cuts condemned as 'bonkers'

Plans to create a two-tier rail system with passengers on rural routes enduring a slower, second-class service have been denounced as "bonkers".

Under the proposals by Richard Bowker, chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), renewal work on branch lines would be limited so that speed restrictions would have to be imposed. Extra resources could then be devoted to inter-city and commuter links where journey times could be cut and services made more reliable.

Rail union leaders argued that lower standards of maintenance on branch lines could make them unsafe.

The SRA's "Specification of Network Outputs" plan sets out to save £600m a year at a time when costs on the network have soared and the Government has axed hundreds of millions of pounds on spending.

The plan envisages work on rural lines being conducted during the day because of the higher costs of night-time work. There would also be restrictions on trains with a "high axle load" on such lines to reduce wear and tear on the track. That could reduce routes used by goods trains.

The authority's document was published as the transport company Arriva, which lost the franchise to run trains on Merseyside, was provisionally awarded a 15-year contract to run services in Wales and the borders. It is understood Arriva has been told to cut the equivalent of one in 10 services from the timetable and substitute buses for little-used train services on some routes.

Mr Bowker insisted the SRA was not implementing a new "Beeching" plan, which slashed rail branch lines in the 1960s. "This is not a preliminary to cuts, this is about trying to ensure that investment is targeted in places where it will do more good," he said. "It is like saying we resurface the M1 more often than we do the A1."

However, Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth's rail spokesman, said the plan was "bonkers". He said: "Traffic levels on rural roads have risen substantially since Labour took office in 1997.

"And many rural rail services are already too slow to provide an attractive alternative to the private car. On top of this, the SRA is inviting franchise bidders to consider running buses instead of trains at certain times of the day.

"The rail industry must get its act together, cut maintenance costs, increase line speeds and rule out bus substitution if it is to help the environment and get people out of their cars."

A spokesman for the Rail and Maritime Union said the plan was the thin end of the wedge. "Once you start winding down one part of the network there is an inevitable knock-on effect," he said. "The rural commuters are being asked to pay the price of privatisation."

However, Stewart Francis, chairman of the Rail Passengers Council, said people had to be realistic about spending on the network. He said: "This is a sensible approach to maintenance. It makes no sense to maintain a Mini Metro in the same way you maintain a Rolls-Royce.

"To have a more intensive care regime on the main priorities of the network makes sense. It is likely to be more cost-effective." Michael Caton, president of campaign group Rail Future, conceded that some rural lines had been "very over-engineered" in recent years. But he added: "I am concerned slowing schedules, lowering frequency and reducing track maintenance will lead to a running down of these services."