That was the opening comment by Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin MP as he delivered the 2016 George Bradshaw Address in London last night.
The Secretary of State took the opportunity presented by his speech, longer than he often makes at rail events, to look in detail at the opportunities and challenges facing the railway today, and to compare it with the situation when he first joined the Department for Transport as a junior minister in 1989.
“Back then, the railways were seen as yesterday’s industry,” he commented. “Remember what it was like. A difficult safety record. Managers struggling against the odds with minimal, unsustained, investment. Government’s attention – elsewhere.”
He seemed pleased to remark that it’s all a bit different now, but there is still work to be done.
Change is needed, but change isn’t new.
“The Victorian railways kept reinventing themselves,” he stated. “With new technology: proper brakes, safer signals, more powerful engines, and even paper tickets.
“A journey in 1838 was utterly different to one in 1862 or 1912.
“And the answer to our challenge, the challenge of growth, must be change too. Of kinds we can’t even imagine today.
“Because as our railways grow, we’re not trying to restore them to a lost glory. But build something even better, doing a very different job.”
He then focussed on three areas that he felt give the best opportunity to improve the railway.
The first is to be more flexible. To respond to the people who want to use the system, open up new markets, communicate better. And test new ideas. The industry shouldn’t just do things the same way because the rules require it.
The second is to work with technology better. To make the system more reliable and cost effective.
“A system which feels modern today could quickly seem as dated as the steam engine if it doesn’t adapt,” he reminded his audience.
The third area, which he felt needed work, was the way in which everything is joined up. “Today, there is confusion as to who is responsible for what. That holds things back and it adds cost and inefficiency,” he stated.
He urged the industry to untangle the knots so that it can bring in new ways of finding more funding and use it better to cope with growth.
A panel discussion followed, with the Secretary of State being joined by Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy and Nicola Shaw, who is preparing the Shaw Report on the long term future shape and financing of Network Rail. “Yes, I’ve started writing it,” was all she said on the subject when questioned by BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott.
Other questions, both from Richard and the floor, concerned Europe (the UK should definitely stay in, but challenge interoperability if it serves no purpose), money (Sir Peter was pleased the Government had increased his budget at a time of general budget cuts, emphasising its commitment to rail), learning from earlier mistakes (the success of works at Christmas 2015 compared with the very-public problems of Christmas 2014), and the ability of Network Rail to complete current plans (Sir Peter was confident now that more rigorous planning controls are in place).
As Patrick McLoughlin said: “The challenge for all of us in this room it to ensure that we have a railway which will serve the nation in the generations to come.”
