Shut railways for weeks in summer ‘for efficient engineering work’

RAIL lines should be shut for weeks on end during the quieter summer months to perform critical engineering works and upgrades, a former transport secretary has said.

Lord Mcloughlin, who held the office between 2012 and 2016, said that disruption on the railways during Christmas, Easter and other bank holidays could then be avoided. Shutdowns could also deliver considerable cost savings when compared to doing work in piecemeal fashion, the former Conservative Party chairman added.

Speaking at a fringe event at the Tory party conference in Birmingham, Lord Mcloughlin said: “Transport infrastructure investment is something that does take time. And sometimes it is frustrating how much time it takes.

“One of the things we might want to do is [introduce] blockades of areas so that we can work on upgrades more than just at weekends or late at night. Those are some of the ways that we might support bringing down costs. Fundamentally that is something we need to work with Network Rail on.”

Liz Truss committed to an extra £25bn of investment to build an electric railway between Liverpool and Hull on Monday.

Commuters on the east-west belt have suffered from years of disruption as vital upgrades and investment is put off.

Lord Mcloughlin’s remarks came as Anne-marie Trevelyan, the current Transport Secretary, called on union leaders to “take your seats at the negotiating table” and find “a landing zone we can all work with”.

Strike action by drivers union Aslef was expected to bring services to a near-standstill today in a long-running row over pay.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) and TSSA are also locked in a dispute that also involves changes to working conditions.

Ms Trevelyan told Conservative members: “There is a deal to be done between the trade unions and the train operators.”

Manuel Cortes, head of the TSSA, said: “If Anne-marie Trevelyan is a new broom in her new role as Transport Secretary then that is to be welcomed.”