Labour has announced a plan to deliver a unified and simplified rail system – one that relentlessly focuses on securing improved services for passengers and better value for money for taxpayers.
In the first year of a Labour Government, we will create Great British Railways, a new body in charge of Britain’s railway infrastructure and services. It will be responsible for the day-to-day operational delivery of the railways, for ensuring infrastructure and services work together, and for innovations and improvements for passengers.
The Transport Secretary will set the long-term strategy and priorities and hold the new body to account on its performance, but Great British Railways will be led by rail professionals and industry experts and have operational independence. This new structure will end the meddling and interference on operational matters and industrial relations by Ministers that has created confusion and paralysis.
The contracts currently held by private train operators will be folded into Great British Railways as they expire over the next few years, or if they are broken by operators who fail to deliver for passengers. The process would be completed during Labour’s first term in office, without the taxpayer having to pay a penny in compensation to outgoing private operators.
Great British Railways would have to deliver for passengers against six key objectives:
1. Reliable – so that people can have confidence in their journey, whether it’s a one-off trip or their daily commute.
2. Affordable – so that prices are kept, wherever possible, at a point that works for both passengers and taxpayers.
3. Efficient – so that people know that their journey will be as straightforward as possible, from booking to travel, and to provide better value for the travelling public and taxpayer alike.
4. Quality – so that passengers have the service experience they have a right to expect.
5. Accessible – so that our railways are available for everyone to use.
6. Safe – so that people don’t worry about their safety on the railway and are not in fear of accidents or crime while travelling.
We will also establish a powerful new passenger watchdog – the Passenger Standards Authority – to independently monitor standards and champion improvement in performance.
Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for East Wiltshire, Rob Newman, said:
“Britain’s railways are iconic but their performance over the past few years has been catastrophic. We have all been on trains where passengers have been packed in like sardines, with carriages removed and reservations pulled; or stood fuming as the departure boards have once again read ‘delayed’ or ‘cancelled’.
“Ticket prices just seem to go up and up while services get worse and worse.
“Labour is calling time on the disastrous performance of our railways. Step by step, we will bring the railways back into public ownership, and give proper direction to the system so that it has a relentless focus on the passenger.
“This is essential if we’re to get our economy growing again, spread opportunity around the country, and restore pride to what should be a great British success story.”
