UK: Rail Business UK looks at how rail industry stakeholders have responded to the government’s Railway Bill , which was laid before parliament on November 5.
The Conservative opposition’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Richard Holden told the Railway Industry Association’s annual conference ’railways are fundamentally a public service, and public services should always be run in the interest of taxpayers and the users of those services; at its simplest, passengers and taxpayers must come first.’
He said ’when changes to rail are discussed, KPIs should be front and centre and focused on the journeys that are reliable, affordable, comfortable and safe. We must deliver a better passenger experience built on key principles that can be monitored: frequent and reliable services, affordable, safe and pleasant journeys for passengers and for taxpayers, a commitment to modernise and a commitment to utilise new technologies to expedite efficiency and meet the challenges of tomorrow, and above all, a target for growth, growth in services, growth in capacity, growth of passengers and growth for freight.’
Holden said ’ministers say that GBR will be the network’s guiding mind. I really fear, though, that behind that could be a dead hand, with so much power in the Secretary of State’s hand.’
The Welsh government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport & North Wales Ken Skates said the bill is ‘a significant step forward in our collaborative approach to rail reform, and I am confident that our continued joint working with the UK government will ensure the delivery of a modern, integrated railway that works for passengers in Wales and throughout the United Kingdom.’
The Scottish government said its ‘position remains that a fully devolved railway is in Scotland’s best interests, and we are disappointed this was not agreed by the UK government.’ It said ‘we support the policy intent of the UK Railways Bill as it seeks to deliver the integration of track and train we have been operating in Scotland for some years and we welcome the opportunity it provides to achieve even greater integration on a statutory, rather than informal, basis.’
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said ‘the introduction of the Railways Bill to Parliament marks a pivotal moment for rail reform across the country. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make trains more reliable and tickets easier to use, with clearer accountability for passengers and greater confidence in every journey.’ He said ‘we will keep working closely with partners to shape the new legislation, ensuring Mayors and city regions have a key statutory role in joining up the railways in their areas, making them work for everyone and unlocking rail as an engine of growth across the country.’
Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan commented that ’it’s great to see legislation finally being brought forward, as we all need clarity and momentum. But in many ways, this is just starting the detailed work to make sure [GBR] is established successfully as the second largest public body after the NHS. The next step we need to see is genuine partnership working between supply chain and public sector sector to find what GBR is, how it works, both on day one and in the longer term, so everyone involved in running railways is aligned. We ask the government to be bold in making rail reform a genuine partnership, recognising it can’t get every detail right by itself, and that we are here as supply chain partners to help make this a success.’
Jason Prince, Director of the Urban Transport Group, said the bill ’offers a once in a generation opportunity to redefine, reshape and reimagine what the railway does for people and places. We welcome the opportunity it presents, through a new statutory role for Mayors, to bring decision making on rail as close as possible to the communities the railways serve.’
Ben Plowden, Chief Executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said ‘an accessible, affordable and reliable rail network integrated with the wider transport system is key to delivering sustainable economic growth and improving regional productivity. Today marks another important step on the road to realising this vision and delivering a railway that works for passengers, freight operators and the country as a whole.’
Blake Richmond, CEO at traffic managment technology company Resonate Group, said that ’the introduction of Great British Railways as an accountable organisation will supplement existing rail infrastructure, helping maintain the success of high-performing networks, while supporting the continued improvement of the UK’s rail system. Putting passengers first involved faster, easier ticketing services, enhanced scheduling, and reduced disruptions to ensure greater reliability across networks and help people get from A to B on time. Technology has a vital role to play here, from modern signalling to data-driven connectivity, optimising network performance and delivering a more reliable, intelligent, and passenger-focussed railway.’
RMT trade union General Secretary Eddie Dempsey welcomed the legislation to create GBR, saying it ’will bring about a new integrated publicly owned organisation, uniting track and train. This marks the culmination of over 30 years of campaigning against privatisation and fragmentation of our railways. GBR could be a once in a generation opportunity to drive improvements for passengers, workers, sustainable economic growth and improved productivity in our economy. We are awaiting the detail of the bill and will be seeking discussions at the highest levels of government to ensure the working conditions of the entire railway workforce are protected and improved as result of GBR.’
Erik Matthies, Policy Lead for travel and transport at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said the formation of Great British Railways is ‘an opportunity to focus on proposals that will make train travel more accessible for blind and partially sighted people.’ He said ‘the complexity and fragmentation that currently exits makes travel difficult. As the era of privatised passenger rail in Britain comes to an end, this is a chance for our evidence-based recommendations to be embedded in into the new structures from the beginning.’
