The immediate agenda - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 390

future traffic congestion problems. Local authorities should not be penalised if
they decide not to introduce such schemes. Effective public transport services
are a good in their own right and should be promoted irrespective of whether a
charging scheme is implemented.
(House of Commons 2005t Recommendation 11)
This line of thinking has recently been taken up by the Conservative Party - not
without an eye to political opportunism - by stating that, if elected, they would scrap
the congestion charging requirement for access to TIF funding and use the money
to support 'new green personal travel initiatives' instead (LTT 493). Clearly as the
possibility of a Conservative Government in 2010 assumes credibility this will further
deter authorities from hazarding their local support on road pricing proposals in the
meantime.
A weakness of the Government's current pilot programme is that it does not
include any schemes on the strategic highway network - a critical feature of any
eventual national scheme. In the past Ministers have said that charges would not
be introduced on strategic roads which have not changed. However opportunities to
introduce charging on recently widened motorways have been passed by. (The HOV
lane previously planned as part of the M1 widening south of Luton has also been
abandoned as unworkable.) Nevertheless the possibility was resurrected by Ruth Kelly
in her announcement on extending ATM on motorways:
Allowing motorists to enter a reserved lane if they are carrying passengers or
willing to pay a toll gives them a real choice without having to change their
route. More capacity comes on line, but instead of immediately filling up, we
can manage demand over time, adapting to circumstances, maintaining traffic
flow and improving the reliability of motorway travel. These are ideas I want to
explore further.
(DfT 2008b)
Introducing HOV or tolled lanes in this fashion, coupled with urban charging
schemes, could be developed to form a more publicly acceptable (and deliverable)
replacement for an all-embracing distance-based national charging scheme (G
Emmerson in LTT 485).
23.5 A strategy for National Rail
The Government announced a review of the structure of the rail industry at the time
Network Rail was set up to take over the functions of Railtrack. The Government's
conclusions were published in a White Paper (DfT 2004e) and its proposals legislated
for in the Railways Act 2005. In a move borne of some exasperation the Government
proposed to wind up the SRA and to transfer most of its functions 'in-house' within
the DfT. New arrangements were put in place with Network Rail to run alongside, and
provide the context for, the franchising of passenger services. In an effort to improve
operational performance Network Rail was also given overall responsibility for the
network and the number of franchises reduced and aligned more closely with its
regional structure.
Critically the Government wanted to try and place a ceiling on its financial
commitment. (Previously it had found itself at the mercy of the Rail Regulator's