LONDON — A rail passenger group is to go ahead with its plan to mount a one-day boycott of the network, despite holding a meeting with Transport Secretary Stephen Byers on January 16, BBC News reports.
Mr Byers’ department described the meeting as “positive” but the Better Rail Advisory Group (Brag) announced its “people’s boycott” of Britain’s beleaguered rail network would happen as planned on 1 March.
At the meeting the transport secretary was handed a 10-point plan of action by Brag.
The same day Mr Byers underwent a grilling by an influential Commons committee before going on to hear calls for his pay to be slashed during a Liberal Democrat sponsored debate in the House.
Brag co-founder Paul Gentleman said the boycott would go ahead despite the fact that Mr Byers appeared sympathetic to the grievances of rail passengers.
“We believe this national day of action will embarrass the government into forcing through improvements on the rail network,” he said.
The organisation – which claims to represent 30,000 people and have the backing of 85% of the public for its boycott – urged Mr Byers to tackle the problems of overcrowding and review current price structures in its 10-point plan.
Mr Gentleman said: “Enough is enough. Passengers are not prepared to endure the delays, cancellations, and general poor standards of service, despite some of the highest fares in Europe.
“Almost 18 months after Hatfield there are still hundreds of speed restrictions in force all over the country – including 100 on First Great Western routes alone.”
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: “It was a helpful meeting. It was useful hearing first hand the problems faced by passengers.
Pay cut call
“We will continue to have a constructive dialogue with rail passengers.”
On Wednesday Lib Dem transport spokesman Don Foster said Mr Byers’ £117,979 salary should be docked in line with the number of cancelled trains.
This would mean a pay cut of 1.8%, with a further 22% to be withheld until March 2003 in line with the number of delayed services, Mr Foster said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is also under renewed pressure from the opposition to sack Mr Byers after it emerged that his department under spent its budget by £350m last year.
Appearing before MPs for the second time this week, Mr Byers admitted the scale of the problems facing him.
“We do not have a railway system that is fit for the 21st Century and that is despite the fact that there are very many dedicated, highly motivated people working in the railway system at the present time,” he said.
“They feel a sense of frustration that they are not working within an organisation which is delivering for the travelling public.”
On Monday, Mr Byers unveiled the strategic plan for the railways which he said “drew a line in the sand and represents the point at which we say: Enough is enough”.
Birt tension
Earlier, MPs saw the first sign of tension between Mr Byers and the prime minister’s personal policy adviser, Lord Birt.
The opposition claim Lord Birt, the former director general of the BBC, has been brought in over Mr Byers’ head to sort out the railways.
Attempting to define the role, Mr Byers told the transport select committee the peer’s job was to look 15 or 20 years ahead.
Asked what purpose Lord Birt’s work served for the government, he replied: “It keeps him occupied.”