It is facile to label Department for Transport ministers and officials as out of touch with the real world – or even the laws of physics. However, they do have a tendency to flit around the railway with a large notice saying ‘lampoon me’ pinned to their collective backs. Ministers rarely look before they leap into a spot of virtue signalling.
Thus it was (isn’t that a bit, er, archaic – Ed?) that Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has been in a self-righteous tizz following the legal advice, not obtained by the Office of Rail and Road until September 2019, that rail replacement coaches would have to comply with the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) from 1 January 2020.
No matter that there weren’t enough compliant coaches available at the variable times and places to meet the long-distance train operators’ requirements from 1 January. Short notice? Coach operators can have a month’s exemption.
As reported last month, at DfT’s third attempt, coach firms supplying long-distance train operators with rail replacement services now have an exemption to use non-PSVAR compliant vehicles to the end of 2020. But contrary to ministerial posturing, this is not a rail problem. It’s a subse…
