MOST Governments don't like the word transport. The fact is that most people only really notice it when things go wrong. Traffic jams, cancelled trains and missed meetings, plane delays, buses which never turn up... these are the things which tend to linger in the memory of the hard-pressed traveller. The journeys which run like clockwork are swiftly forgotten. For that reason, while transport can often be a vote-loser for a Government, it is rarely a big vote winner. So what transport issues are likely to be played out in this election, nationally and locally? THE RAILWAYS
The UK's main transport fixation in recent years has been the state of the nation's railways which have almost become an obsession for some. The bewildering jigsaw of train operating companies, franchises, rolling stock providers and governing bodies left behind by privatisation in 1993 has often left the traveller with nothing but frustration. High-profile tragedies such as Hatfield have also severely dented public confidence in the network while fares will rise by another 4% this year. Yet there are signs of some improvements. Latest passenger figures show that more than 1bn rail journeys were made in the UK last year, up by 4% annually and the highest total since 1959. The debacle that has been the revamp of the West Coast Main Line is finally bringing benefits, admittedly at a cost of £8bn. Passengers travelling between Liverpool and London can now enjoy a journey time of 2hr 27 mins, a vast improvement on the previous average of around 2hr 53 mins, and can travel on Virgin's brand new fleet of tilting Pendolinos. The Strategic Rail Authority is being removed with many of its former powers being taken up by the Secretary of State for Transport, simplifying the governance structure. Railtrack meanwhile is now nothing more than a bad memory, put into administration in late 2001 and replaced by the government-backed not-for-profit group Network Rail. Locally, Merseyrail is the best performing mainland operator on the UK with punctuality and reliability rates well above 90%. If the Railways Bill succeeds in its precariously late passage through Parliament this week, Merseytravel could also wrestle even more local control of the track from Network Rail. Stephen Pearse, transport specialist at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: "I think some passenger numbers have to be looked at with a pinch of salt because there may be some double accounting but the positive side is more people are using the railway. "The coming together of the WCML has made a big difference and, while we're still experiencing some difficulties in areas where work is continuing, certainly heading towards London it's starting to improve. Looking north it's rather different. "There needs to be a rethink on getting more through trains going through Birmingham where invariably you have to change if travelling from Liverpool at the moment. "We also need to act on the Manchester rail hub which is becoming a real bottleneck. "If the Government is serious about getting people out of cars, they need to increase capacity on the network." The Conservatives plan to give more freedom to train companies and longer franchise agreements while the Lib-Dems want extra rail lines to support more high-speed services and rail freight villages to move more freight around by rail. | 
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