The Department for Transport’s plans to ban “unnecessary” train announcements have met with backlash from some Labor MPs in the North East.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Friday that the government should review and remove train announcements that cause extra noise and disruption to journeys.
The announcement was criticized as “untouched” and overlooked more pressing issues related to train service in the region.
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Bridget Phillipson, Labor MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, said on Twitter: “A lot of people in the North East don’t have the luxury of hearing train announcements about bins or anything else.
“You don’t have the luxury of any trains at all.
“And they won’t do it as long as the government continues to say ‘no’ to the reopening of the Leamside line.”
The government rejected plans to reopen the Leamside railway line between County Durham and Pelaw in 2021, which MPs hoped would allow commuter trains to return to places like Washington for the first time in decades.
Labour’s Catherine McKinnell, who represents Newcastle Upon Tyne North, was more sarcastic about the Department for Transport’s plans.
She said: “Yes, of course no one will notice the stratospheric costs and inability to cross the north after they abolish Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Integrated Rail Plan as long as they suppress train announcements.
“The government is out of touch, out of ideas, out of roads and now out of rails.”
Ms McKinnell was referring to the huge reduction in the government’s promise to transform rail transport in the north of England in November 2021, branded as a ‘hammer blow’ for the region.
The Government scrapped the eastern section of the HS2 high-speed line to Leeds and downgraded the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) intercity project.
The reduction of HS2 and NPR means that Newcastle to London journey times will be 11 minutes slower than previously proposed, while the Newcastle to Birmingham journey will take a full 50 minutes longer than hoped.
Grant Shapps defended the decision to scrap excess train announcements, saying it will improve the passenger experience and eliminate distractions from “important safety-critical messages”.
The Department for Transport said it will work closely with the Rail Delivery Group, passenger groups including Transport Focus and train operators to see how the large number of announcements can be reduced while maintaining important commitments to ensure travel is accessible for all remains.
They have stated that “messages that play a safety-critical role or ensure that railways are accessible to all will remain”.
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