Member Article

Rail franchising must restart "ASAP" says Eurostar chairman

Eurostar chairman Richard Brown has said the country’s rail franchising system is not broken, but has made for an “increasingly successful rail network.”

Mr Brown’s review of the system recommends further devolving franchises to relevant authorities and a strengthening of the bidding and evaluation process.

The report suggested there was no credible case for major structural change, and said as punctuality and passenger satisfaction had improved, it was unlikely that this would be the case if franchising was flawed.

Mr Brown said: “In carrying out this review I have come to the conclusion that the franchising system is not broken, but rather it has made a major contribution to Britain’s increasingly successful rail network.

“It is therefore essential for both passengers and the wider rail market that the franchising programme is restarted as soon as possible.

“To achieve this goal, my review has identified a series of practical proposals and recommendations which, if implemented, will result in a stronger and more effective approach to franchising.

“In addition, I have provided the department with three broad options for them to consider where a strengthened franchising organisation might be located. As set out in both my review and the Laidlaw Report, the department must look to strengthen its franchising capability as a top priority.

“Passengers cannot wait whilst theoretical discussions are held about the structure of railways. It is essential to get on with the franchising programme in order to maintain the momentum of investment in increasing capacity and improving services.”

The TUC refuted the claims of the report, and cited research Transport for Quality of Life, which estimated that train operators contributed just 1% of the investment that went into improving the UK’s railways.

TUC general secretary and chair of the Action for Rail campaign Frances O’Grady said: “This report shows how successive models of franchising have failed. However, instead of recognising that privatised rail operators are ill-equipped to provide a sustainable long-term public service, the review concludes that the UK needs more of the same.

“Our current system of corporate welfare – where train operators make a play of bidding for contracts knowing that their future revenue will be underwritten by the taxpayer – sadly looks here to stay.

“With such high costs associated with franchising and so little innovation or investment coming from the private sector, it is increasingly hard to justify the point of franchising.

“Nothing appears to have been learned from the success of the publicly-owned East Coast Mainline, which has re-invested profits back into services. Instead, public rail subsidies will continue to end up in the pockets of shareholders. That is not my idea of putting passengers first and this review is a huge missed opportunity.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .