It’s time for Labour to set out a plan for rail reform – but how far are we willing to go?

The debate about Labour’s rail policy has never been higher on the agenda as ASLEF’s conference begins in Brighton today. Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Mary Creagh MP is due to address our annual gathering of train drivers this afternoon, and I know Mary will acknowledge that rail needs to be reformed. There is no doubt about that. The key point is that a reformed railway can generate revenue for a future Labour government to reduce train fares and support rail and wider public investment at a time of austerity.

It’s a self-evident and compelling argument – but how far will Mary and the Eds be willing to go?

ASLEF has long argued that a return to a publicly-owned and publicly-accountable railway will be a process and not an event. Notwithstanding the need to tackle ills such as transport poverty (where an individual spends 20% of their income on travel) there are also a unique set of circumstances within the rail industry at present which present an incoming Labour (or Labour-led) administration with an opportunity to push a rail reform agenda, however incremental that may be.

In a hugely significant development, European Union accounting rules have forced the Government to reclassify Network Rail’s debt as government debt, which will require the infrastructure operator to be a public body from September of this year. With annual revenues of £6 billion (two thirds of which is public subsidy) and debts of £30 billion (all or much of which may have to be written off) this will leave the tracks, stations and signals – or 50% of the industry – in public hands.

Moreover, 12 out of 16 passenger rail franchises are up for renewal between 2015 and 2020 – hopefully under the watch of a Labour government – who can choose not to renew these contracts. Instead they could operate them on a not-for-profit basis like publicly owned Directly Operated Railways. They have run East Coast and returned nearly £1billion to the government in 5 years, more than any train operator in the history of rail privatisation.

I welcome Labour’s assertion that ‘nothing is off the table’ when it comes to rail. But I hope Mary will use her speech this afternoon to begin to set out what is going to go on the table. The current realities in the industry are inescapable. Time is short and as a loyal affiliated trade union ASLEF hopes Labour will use this opportunity  to propose a genuine programme of rail reform which will secure not only my members’ support, but their vote.

Mick Whelan is the General Secretary of ASLEF