Why the Government must buck up its ideas on transport (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Why the Government must buck up its ideas on transport

January 9, 2001 12:00 AM

We all know that Tory rail privatisation was a disaster. It left our railways fragmented and lines of accountability unclear. But the Labour Government's response to rail chaos has been impotent and inffective. They don't expect rail services to return to normal until Easter! There have been more summits and task forces in recent months than trains running on time and improvements, changes and increases in service still seem very far away. The Strategic Rail Authority should be ordered to make Railtrack accountable for its failings now. How can we ever expect the general public to return to trains if there seems to be little movement in getting trains back let alone the improvements we were promised at the time of privatisation. We need a specific Transport Secretary, at Cabinet level, to get transport in this country back on track - and if the Government does decide that this may well be a good idea, my plea is to make it someone with vision and committment. We have wasted to much time already.