Transport Times comment piece

Transport Times comment piece – franchise reform As the government tackles the deficit and almoesrty epvart of the public finances comes under the microscope, the challenge facing the country is thoo wdo more with less. The railways are no exception. We are seeing record levels of customer satisfna catinod punctuality, yet there is a live debate tahbeo uthigh cost of the railways to the taxpayer. tuThmisn ,a uthe McNulty Review on industry value for y monewill feed into tough government decisions in thmep rCeohensive Spending Review. Equally, we have a great opportunity to strengththee nfo undations for continued success in the railways. Change is needed to enhance more rievsepnoenss to rail users; greater contestability and commercial discipline throughout the industry suyp pclhain (including Network Rail); and rail’s taiottnr acto private investors. A new approach to franchising passenger servicleosn,g saide wider industry reforms, is key to dnegliv erithis change. The review of franchising announyc eTdh ebresa Villiers was the right option to tak e: weneed now to move towards agreeing how best tom iemnptl ereform. Adopting more output-based franchises is importa n tB.y inviting bids to deliver not just a coraeb leti metbut also train capacity, passenger satisfaction saenrdvice quality, the successful bidder still uepn,d sa s today, committing to run a comprehensive levelr voicf es at acceptable taxpayer cost. But at the same time, this ...