All trains in northern England 'clapped out' and need replacing, rail minister warns

All trains in the north of England are “clapped out” and need replacing, the rail minister has said. Lord Peter Hendy said replacing such trains would be one of the benefits passengers would see as a result of the Government’s rail reforms. The creation of Great British Railways (GBR), which will bring responsibility for tracks and trains under a single organisation for the first time since privatisation in the mid-1990s, will help get all parts of the rail network “on the same page”, the minister said as he spoke at the Railway Industry Association’s annual conference in central London.

Lord Hendy said the country’s railways have previously been operating in “silos” for years and there was a “culture of blame” within the industry. Asked how the changes will impact passengers, Lord Hendy told Wednesday’s event: “I think one of the things that the railway urgently needs to fix, rather than just putting it in a long wish list, you know, every train in the north of England’s clapped out. “We need to replace them all. Read more: Spain's transport minister says he won't resign over deadly rail disaster - insisting he has 'nothing to hide' Read more: Delay fears for East West Rail launch as staff to strike over door row “That’s a really serious investment choice and actually GBR and the Government will have to face it head on.

“I think looking at those things and understanding how that plays out over a number of years, looking at the present rolling stock park and how they might best be used is actually something that will affect customers. “There’s nothing more stupid than watching some trains halfway through their lives that have been parked in a field, when they’re put back into service miserably failing on a daily basis because the industry wasn’t coherent enough to send them from the place they weren’t needed anymore overnight to the next place that they were.

“You can’t believe how stupid that is. “The Great Western has been devastated in Devon and Cornwall by trains that have been sitting in the open air for three years. “They don’t work properly. We can do better at that.” Great Western Railway, which operates mainline services from the capital to the west of England, will be the next train operator to pass into public ownership in December. During the event, Lord Hendy was also asked about cyber security concerns within the British rail network.

He said: “Yes, of course we’re alive to it. “You look at the threats in the modern world and cyber security and invasion of people’s systems is a principal threat. “The Government has a sophisticated view across the whole piece about what needs to be done in cyber security. “The railway is very much part of that.” He added: “We are very much on it. “I don’t worry about it but I am concerned about it but I know that the Government, together with the principal actors, Network Rail and GBR, as it comes, will be very much alive to it.”

Great Western Railway (GWR) has been contacted for comment.