£500-a-day 'ghost bus' that never picks up a passenger

A COACH which is not advertised and never picks up passengers runs every Tuesday from Ealing Broadway station on a 70-minute trip to Wandsworth Road.

The 50-seater "ghost bus" costs the taxpayer an estimated £500 a day and replaces sections of railway that have been closed. The service is funded by the Department for Transport. Experts say that by running it, ministers can claim that a service still operates and avoid the legal requirement to hold a public consultation to shut down the section of rail.

It is claimed that the DfT is using a loophole governing rail closures that allows ministers "to secure the provision of substitute bus services if a passenger rail service is temporarily interrupted or has been discontinued".

Rail passenger groups fear that the Ealing bus sets a dangerous precedent for closures by stealth. Driver Simon Houlton said he had been told not to expect any passengers. He told The Times he had been "told off" last week for not continuing to the final station, even though he had departed empty from the final pick-up point.

He added: "They said it's got to run the whole route, empty or not. It may seem daft but I'm just doing my job and getting my pay." Until 14 December Crosscountry ran two trains a day in each direction between Birmingham and Brighton, via Kensington Olympia, using sections of track in west London. It was used by about 80 people. A spokesman for the DfT said: "There is some limited demand."