Channel 4’s Dispatches reveals carriages that could be used on busy commuter routes are sitting still in depots

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

At a time of rising fares and growing passenger dissatisfaction, an investigation has revealed that thousands of unused trains are standing idle in rail sidings and depots across the country.

According to industry experts, the unused “ghost trains” worth at least £3bn and containing over 110,000 seats are being stored across at least half a dozen sites, including Crewe, Worksop, Ely and Long Marston.

About 40% of UK rail routes are electrified, one of the lowest percentages in Europe. In 2017, three long-planned electrification projects were scrapped, including the Midland mainline.

An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches into the UK’s dysfunctional railways has revealed that many of the carriages could be used immediately, while others only need minor adjustments to be brought into service to alleviate the pressure on busy commuter routes.

Despite rising fares, millions of rail commuters suffer daily from delays, cancellations and overcrowding.

Last week’s budget – in which the publication of the long-awaited national infrastructure strategy was delayed until later in the spring – focused on roadbuilding, while rail travel was largely ignored.

Ministers have previously said they will spend around £48bn on rail between now and 2024, but four-fifths of this is already earmarked for routine maintenance.

Research conducted by academic and rail expert Marcus Mayers from Manchester Metropolitan University also revealed that rail users in the north of England are spending an extra 165m hours a year on trains compared with their counterparts in London and the south-east. This equates to an additional 40 minutes per day on trains due to lack of network electrification.

Mayers says electric trains are faster and more reliable than diesel trains, meaning more services can be run on a route.

At present, only 38% of Britain’s rail network is electrified, with past electrification benefiting the south of England disproportionately. Only 17% of train journeys serving the north of England are electrified, compared with 84% of train journeys serving London, excluding tube journeys.

A recent ComRes poll of 2,000 adults revealed the level of public anger at the state of the country’s railways.

Half (51%) of Britons feel the government is neglecting rail infrastructure in their area and 58% of people who do not travel by train say this is because the service is too expensive.

Rail passengers across the country also feel services are more crowded and offer worse value for money than a year ago.

Nearly two-thirds of rail passengers in the north believe their train services are more crowded than a year ago.

Since the budget last Wednesday, the chancellor’s infrastructure and other regional announcements have been criticised as vague.

The Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chair of the transport select committee, said: “I was expecting a little more detail. The mantra of this government is about getting into parts of the communities that have not properly had the investment, the infrastructure, and really turning it around for them and making a notable difference by the time we come back knocking on the door for votes again.”

In September 2018, Theresa May’s government announced a “root and branch” review of the rail industry led by the former British Airways executive Keith Williams.

It was supposed to make a series of ambitious recommendations that would transform the rail industry, reduce disruption and simplify fares. It was due to be published at the end of 2019 but has been delayed.

Government sources revealed that the “policy recommendations” section at the end of the review remains completely blank, with those involved in compiling it at odds about the way forward for Britain’s rail network.

In the Conservative party manifesto last year, Boris Johnson promised to invest £100bn in new infrastructure projects to help “level up” the country.

But Lord Berkeley, a critic of the government’s HS2 project, said: “The prime minister is very keen on infrastructure, but I’d be very sceptical, and my worry would be that they’ll start off doing a few things in the north or the Midlands, and then they’ll say, ‘Oh, we’ve run out of money and we’ll delay it’. And that’s the history of railway investment for the last 20 years.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The storage of rolling stock in sidings is not new. As the industry introduces new trains these are often stored to undergo various testing and commissioning before entering into service. Equally, older trains coming off the network are often stored in sidings before being scrapped.

“There have been more than 8,000 new vehicle orders since 2010 and they are being delivered into service now and in the coming years, which will transform the passenger experience. A number of these trains are longer to increase the capacity on the network and we continue to invest a record £48bn to expand and modernise our railways and deliver the reliable services people expect.”

• Britain’s Train Hell is broadcast on Monday 16 March at 8pm on Channel 4.