Book Description

It is thirteen years since the Railways Act 1993 started the process of privatising British Rail, replacing it with one company owning and managing the infrastructure, an open-access system for freight services and a series of twenty-five passenger franchises let to private companies for a specified period of time. This period has seen almost continuous change, and there is now a new 'triumvirate' framework with the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail in place, with the third generation of franchises in the process of being let and the number being reduced to nineteen. The Committee's report examines the current franchising system, focusing on the coherence of its objectives, the effectiveness of the process for awarding franchises and the management of franchise agreements, and whether more competition and vertical integration is needed. Findings include that the current system represents a policy muddle which lacks a coherent framework for the development of good services and delivery of value for money for passengers and taxpayers. The only way the Government can increase capacity and improve services for the long-term is to drop the dogmatic pursuit of competition in its decision-making as to what the private and public sectors can and should do in future. The Government's forthcoming long-term strategy for the railways will need to address these issues, and to set out a structure and a strategy capable of securing quality passenger rail services to meet demand over the next half a century.