[A-List] UK corporate state: railways fiasco

["Keaney Michael" <Michael.Keaney@xxxxxx>]

"Beardie Branson" is of course "Sir" Richard, Tony's original preferred
choice for a "non-political", "people's" mayor of London, before Ken
went and spoiled everything.


Private Eye

No. 1063, 20 September-3 October 2002

Signal Failures: How they are related

The absence of an independent rail watchdog is growing more obvious as
services decline but fares rise and companies get huge bailouts in
secretive deals.

Nobody challenges the cosiness between the industry's most powerful
people and the main beneficiaries of their largesse. The government
washes its hands of the shambles, leaving the strategic rail authority
(SRA) to reward private-sector failure as it likes.

The nearest things to watchdogs are the regional rail passengers
committees (RPCs) and their umbrella organisation, the rail passengers
council. They're good at forcing companies to give badly delayed
travellers the odd £50 in vouchers; but when it comes to sums like
£50m the RPCs have no influence over the SRA, government or train
operators. Last year the local RPCs formally investigated First Great
Western's pisspoor service. They blamed under-investment -- but the SRA
has deferred modernisation to 2012 or later.

The RP council, meanwhile, got so excited when the SRA decided to rescue
Virgin Rail from annihilation in July (Eye 1061), it demanded a public
inquiry into the decision and the whole west-coast renewal fiasco.
Failing that, the council could hold a statutory investigation, said
chairman Stewart Francis boldly. A meeting with SRA head Richard Bowker
seems to have brought him to his senses though and made him realise that
allowing Virgin to drop about £1.5bn of promised franchise payments to
the public purse does not require investigation. Bowker also got to
address the council's meeting last week, when he said giving other
companies the chance to replace Virgin would be "wasting money".

Although the west coast problems are much bigger than those investigated
by the RPCs on Great Western, there will be no inquisition highlighting
the roles played in Virgin's original deal by:

- Virgin Rail high-flier Richard Bowker, now SRA chairman *and* chief
executive;

- Virgin Rail legal adviser Tom Winsor, now the rail regulator who is
*still* allowing Richard Branson a monopoly on key chunks of the
west-coast line after the reason for it has collapsed (Eye 1042);

- Virgin Rail consultant Jim Steer, who became SRA managing director of
strategic planning after strategically planning Virgin's monumental
cock-up.

Naturally the decision to drop the matter has nothing to do with the
fact the "watchdogs" are funded and appointed by the SRA.

Beardie Branson isn't the only one with friends in high places.
Stagecoach is struggling with its Coach USA subsidiary -- where Bowker's
dad was sent in 2000 as senior vice-president, operations. How fortunate
that Stagecoach owns half of Virgin Rail, recently released from its
obligations and promised an initial bailout of £106m by Bowker Jnr.

But what happens if you don't have seats at the top table? Well, apart
from being open to an embarrassing investigation like First Great
Western, your franchise could be shrunk. The new South Central franchise
was to last 20 years and create a London-Brighton route via Lewes; now
Bowker has cut Govia's term to the tradition seven-year period and no
line will be electrified. Bowker says the money can be better spent
elsewhere. Does he mean bailing out Virgin? Or did he have in mind the
£29m he handed Stagecoach's South West Trains for works enshrined in
its not-yet-legal 20-year franchise deal?

PS: Tony Blair won't want to delve too deeply into what's going on or
things might be off-key next time he plays guitar at a party and wants
Richard Bowker to accompany him on keyboard. That would be a shame after
they made such fabulous music together at a French chateau this summer.