A new report – published days before the New Year rail fare rises come into effect – is calling for an end to franchising and for city regions to have more control over their rail services.
Change is needed to bring to an end the years of poor services passengers have endured, and ensure the railways deliver social, environmental and economic benefits to communities.
The future of rail, published by transport charity Campaign for Better Transport, examines the current failings of the railways and looks at what steps the Government needs to take to get rail back on track.
In addition to the recommendations on franchising and devolution, the report also calls for a new national rail policy and a new public body to deliver it, as well as major fares and ticketing reform.
Darren Shirley, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said:
“Passengers have suffered unreliable, expensive, overcrowded trains for too long: Britain’s railways need to change. The Government has committed to end the current structures and franchising system which are unwieldy, unaccountable, unimaginative and ineffective, providing weak alignment with society’s needs, with neither passengers nor taxpayers getting value for money.
“Our research has found that the railways have the potential to deliver huge economic, social and environmental benefits to communities and the country as a whole, but in order to deliver these objectives the focus of public policy and government action, as well as the system itself, needs to change fundamentally. The Government must now seize its chance to put an end to nightmare rail journeys by delivering a new national rail policy and the means to implement it, along with comprehensive fares reform in its forthcoming White Paper.”
The report draws on the evidence submitted by the charity to the Williams Rail Review, which was set up to transform Britain’s railways. The Review, which is due to be published in the new year, will form the basis of a White Paper which will set out the Government’s future rail policy.
The Future of Rail is being published a few days before the annual rail fare increase comes into force. From 1 January passengers will pay on average 2.7 per cent more for their tickets. Campaign for Better Transport is calling for the current RPI-linked annual increase to be dropped in favour of a system which keeps rises to a minimum and more accurately reflects inflation.
