Our commitment to an effective and integrated transport policy, set out in the 1997 manifesto, is taking shape. Much has been achieved, but much more must be done. That is why the Ten Year Plan, announced last July, aims to give people real choice in the way they travel. Despite current difficulties experienced by the travelling public, services are getting better.
We have spent the first few years of this Government tackling the Tory legacy of privatisation, fragmentation and underinvestment. We have set in place the structures to provide coherence, partnership and modernisation. The Ten Year Plan sees a massive investment programme that will involve public and private funds. We plan to spend £60 billion on rail, £59 billion on roads and £59 billion for local transport. This will boost our transport system nationally and locally and provide real choice to public transport users and motorists.
We have developed new policies, new powers and new resources to invest in transport. We are determined to raise standards of efficiency, safety and reliability. The Strategic Rail Authority has the task of planning strategic improvements in the rail network and bringing back a co-ordinated approach. Working in partnership with the rail regulator, Railtrack and the train operators, it distributes public subsidies and acts as the passengers’ champion.
The task facing the railways is to get the system running on time, with proper maintenance and safety procedures in place. Eventual enhancement of the lines with new links will come over the next ten years once the basics are in place. Train companies which do not come up to standard will lose their franchise. Railtrack will be closely monitored to ensure that maintenance and rail replacement programmes are carried on safely and efficiently, with the least possible disruption to passenger and freight train operators. After the Hatfield crash, we set up the Rail Recovery Action Group to ensure the industry worked as a team to get services back to normal as quickly as possible. The target of normal service is in sight. Now we want to see major improvements.
The travelling public are our top priority. Following the tragic events at Southall, Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield, safety is our overriding concern. Lord Cullen’s enquiry will report later this year. His recommendations, together with the programme already underway to install train protection and warning systems across the network with Automatic Train Protection on higher speed lines, will make a real difference. We have also set up a new body called ‘Railway Safety’ within Railtrack, which is protected from commercial conflicts.
And our plans for modernising the tube through a Public Private Partnership are designed to supply the extra investment it so badly needs. There will be a unified safety structure under public control. We are determined to get the best deal for Londoners and the tube will combine public ownership and control with private sector expertise and capital.
The Government is working with local authorities to invest in local transport plans that will give communities real powers when deciding what transport systems best suits their needs. With the planned £60 billion investment in local transport we can look forward to regeneration and expansion, helping communities to attract economic growth and jobs and, at the same time, catering for the needs of the young, pensioners and families with affordable transport choices. Concessionary fares for all over 60 and new school bus schemes are just some of our recently announced plans. £8.4 billion will be delivered for capital investment across England in the next five years through our local transport plans announced in December.
Safety, efficiency and sustainability are the keys to developing an integrated transport system that will make Britain a better place to live and work in. Tackling congestion and ensuring that environmental concerns are addressed when considering any road building schemes is fundamental to our strategy. There is much still to be done, but we have laid the foundations.