Christian Wolmar's June Newsletter
Christian Wolmar
Dear subscriber
The long-waited McNulty report on the rail industry proved to be what I expected, a damp squib which clearly had been through the civil service wringer, then vetted by Philip Hammond. The remarkable thing is that throughout the report it is clear that the extra costs in the railway have been caused by privatisation and fragmentation, and yet McNulty ended up recommending more of both.
It was a thoroughly dishonest exercise which may yet rebound on the government. Creating yet more bodies within the rail industry, supposedly in an effort to improve efficiency, is very likely to have the opposite effect. In a couple of years time, when the sums don’t add up, and the rail industry will be desperately scrabbling around for cuts, there won’t be Labour to blame, but then probably not Hammond, either, who will be long gone.
McNulty, therefore, has dominated the past month and I wrote a piece for The Times on the day it appeared, which attracted quite a lot of response and letters. It’s on my website (as the Times has a paywall) here
The two new Rail columns cover, respectively, the way that there is always a search for someone to blame when there are problems in the railway, here, and the other looks at the obscure, but vital, area of project assessment, here The next two Rail are about McNulty and will be on the website within the next couple of weeks.
I have been writing a chapter on megaprojects for a book to be produced by the Volvo Research & Educational Foundations. It’s fascinating stuff which has made me reappraise the value of megaprojects, seeing both more of their upside and their downside, though it’s still not changed my mind about HS2.
Otherwise, I am spending most of my time desperately working on my history of the US railways whose autumn deadline is looming. My Engines of War book is being reissued as a trade paperback in the autumn, and also watch this space, next month, for news about one of my out of print books, Down the Tube, the story of the London Underground PPP. Even though the book was published in 2003, it is still very relevant and the lessons of overcomplexity and failed attempts at risk transfer have not been learnt. I was speaking to a lawyer the other day, who told me that in the run up to the PPP there were sometimes 40 or 50 people at a meeting lasting several hours, all on £300 or more per hour – all for an unworkable contract that lasted just 7.5 years. That’s why the book is worth reproducing. I hope that by next month the book will be available as a download for Kindle via Amazon, an exciting development. If it works, I will make other of my out of print books available in that way, too.
Just to end this shorter than usual newsletter on a begging note: I am raising money for the Railway Children with the 3 Peaks by rail walk on the last weekend in June. It’s a great cause, and I am nowhere near my target. Go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/donate/indexerSearchCharityResults.action
I only ever do these things once a year at most, so please donate! Anyone donating £50 can have a free copy of one of my books (those in print!) or DVDs. There’s a list on the website. Just send me your address and your choice.
Christian Wolmar
June 7 2011