The Problems

Were our train services more reliable when British Rail ran them?

In our opinion, they were, though we acknowledge that the better-run private services have added new investment e.g. in rolling stock and that passenger numbers are up.

Certainly the contracting out of associated services has given rise to dangerous corner cutting and blame-passing, e.g.. lack of rail and locomotive maintenance, which has resulted in train crashes and deaths.

Rail fares are generally far too high, and the charges incredibly inconsistent. When booking tickets one can find that there is a 75% price difference for the same journey taken at 08.30 or 09.30. For rail commuters in particular, the daily journey can be a nightmare - standing room only, dirty carriages, trains often late or not turning up at all, and fares where the annual rise is almost always above the rate of inflation.

Problems like this are exacerbated by the recent large-scale immigration to Britain much of which has come to London and the South East. It is now one of the most overcrowded corners of the globe. We just add to our transport problems by encouraging over 150,000 more to come here each year than leave Britain.

In many countries, the ‘bus and rail services that are government-run are almost always more effective than those run privately. Germany, France, Holland and Switzerland are all classic examples.

Buses can offer a good service in many urban areas but do suffer from fares being inconsistently priced. This can be due to whether the service is privately operated or tendered. However, in rural areas, bus services are almost non-existent and do not form a viable alternative to the car for business commuters or shoppers.

Our Solutions

Public transport needs to provide a viable alternative to persuade motorists to leave the car at home. The public transport system must be able to get you to where you need to go (and back home again) safely, quickly and at a reasonable cost.

A nationally co-ordinated rail service

We will gradually re-create a rail service where the same company does all the business of running trains, setting prices and carrying out maintenance, which will be accountable to you, the taxpayer as well as shareholders. This company would be guaranteed to remain in British ownership. Under-performing private train operators would be taken over and run by a national rail company. The better-run operators would be allowed to continue but would be required to work closely with the national rail company.

Our initial aim will be to provide more trains, especially on the busy commuter lines, improve track and signal maintenance and provide cleaner carriages. On the 'long distance' routes, we would encourage more people to use the trains by providing more regular services with a simple pricing structure.

Maglev

Alongside this, we would begin to build a new up-to-date rail service based on Maglev trains. These trains are very efficient, and can travel at over 300 miles per hour, reducing the journey time from Newcastle to London to an hour. Germany, Japan and China now have Maglev and are continuing to develop this extremely efficient public transport system. Other nations are already looking to do the same.

As the passenger rail service is gradually replaced by Maglev, our policy would be to use some of the present rail network as a roll-on, roll-off transport carrier for wagons, stock and goods. As with the Channel Tunnel, wagons will drive on at strategically placed stations to be carried to ports and cities, thus reducing the burden on the road network.

This would have the following advantages:

a) it would greatly reduce carbon emissions from diesel engines,

b) it would alleviate the need to spend vast sums repairing motorway surfaces, which are excessively damaged by heavy good vehicles

c) it would reduce the number of vehicles using the motorways and contribute towards overall safety levels.

Rural ’bus services

We would put extra resources into ’bus services in rural areas, with the aim of providing a more regular service to suit both daily commuters and those wishing to travel into towns and cities for shopping purposes.

Roads and Congestion - The Problems

Many of our roads, especially motorways, are becoming gridlocked, as people continue to use their cars rather than trust the unreliable, inconvenient and expensive public transport system. As a small island, we cannot continually give up land to build more and more roads.

The chaos on our roads and motorways is exacerbated by the endless need for roadworks, especially when these are scheduled to be in operation during rush hours, leading to the frustration of long queues and delays.

Speed bumps cause damage to cars, and disrupt ambulance and emergency services. Speed cameras are not always placed at the scenes of true accident blackspots, and may be used purely as a moneymaking device.

Our Solutions

There are actually too many vehicles on the roads today, and our transport policy will look at ways of reducing the number of road users, whilst also ensuring that drivers are more able to use roads in a safe and considerate manner.

Our policies on increasing use of public transport have already been stated, and we believe that these will be best achieved by providing viable alternatives and incentives for motorists to abandon their cars, rather than merely hitting them with increasingly punitive measures such as congestion charges.

Unlicensed and untaxed vehicles

The use of unlicensed, untaxed and uninsured vehicles on the roads is a major problem - with the government admitting that there may be over 800,000 such vehicles on our roads. That is 800,000 too many. Police resources must be diverted to track down these illegal vehicles and their drivers if vehicles are found to be using roads illegally, police will have the power to immediately impound the vehicle for 28 days. Unless the necessary documents, and a suitable fee are provided within this time, the vehicle will be crushed. Drivers who use roads without having passed their driving test, or whilst banned, will face prison sentences.

We would also look at introducing a vignette tax on all foreign drivers bringing their vehicles into the UK

New tests for drivers

All new drivers, having passed their driving test, then need to move on to a further stage, which we propose would consist of two lessons driving on motorways and the completion of a map-reading and journey-planning course. This will enable drivers to become better prepared, safer and more confident.

Use of alternatives to speed cameras

We would concentrate speed cameras outside schools, hospitals and all known accident blackspots. We would use successful alternatives methods of encouraging motorists to slow down, such as illuminated 'Slow Down' signs and electronic signs giving your speed. Penalties for speeding would be concentrated on those who exceed the speed limit by a substantial margin.

Speed humps

There would be a review of the location and construction of speed humps. We acknowledge that speed bumps are an effective way of slowing down traffic, but it is important that they are constructed in such a way as to slow down traffic to an acceptable level whilst not at the same time causing unnecessary damage to vehicles and impeding emergency services.

Noise Pollution

Heavy fines for loud noise coming from within cars (usually boom box hi-fis) and also increase fines for use of mobile phones whilst driving. The noise pollution issue is one for law & order and we would legislate to set maximum output levels for car hi-fi systems manufacturers and tackle the problem at source.

The use of mobile phone issue requires a much higher penalty and will be included within our Crime policy, which needs a more consistent implementation

Fuel for Transport

In line with our Energy Policy, we will look to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and encourage the use of hydrogen (fuel cell) technology and ethanol. Vehicles can now be designed to use hydrogen fuel cell technology or existing vehicles adapted to run an internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen, but one drawback to introducing this lies in the development of the infrastructure to support the new technology.

The Popular Alliance will follow the lead of Iceland, which is now committed to be fossil fuel-free and is converting to hydrogen over a 30-year period.

Over a period of 20 years, we will encourage manufacturers, using financial incentives where necessary, to produce alternative fuel vehicles for mass production, and encourage British companies to undertake the research and development which will drive the technology to supply the world with innovative new products and automotive expertise.

We will also expand the incentives, infrastructure and production of other alternative fuels to lessen our reliance on Oil