Public ownership of Britain’s railways is not a “silver bullet” to ensure a better service for passengers, the Transport Secretary has said.
Heidi Alexander told a gathering of rail industry leaders in Manchester that cancellations on the public Northern line stand at “more than 10%” and that many people in the “area have been disappointed for too long “.
Alexander also outlined his priorities for the coming year, including “fare and ticketing reform” to ensure “a best price guarantee”, as well as the publication of performance data at stations.
But shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said “quick fixes and empty announcements will not improve passenger services or boost economic growth”.
The renationalisation of railway operating companies was a key part of the Labor programme.
Northern became publicly owned under the Conservative government in 2020, but its performance has not improved.
Alexander said she and Railways Minister Lord Peter Hendy would hold the Department for Transport (DfTO) “with its feet to the fire” in implementing the improvement plan published by Northern, although she provided no further details on how.
The operational division already provides 25% of train journeys on the franchises it controls: Northern, LNER, TransPennine and Southeastern. C2C, South Western and Greater Anglia will be added during this year.
In her speech, she said there was a need to unify train operators and Network Rail, which manages the rail infrastructure.
This would allow them “to work more closely together, eliminate duplication, simplify track and train management and create greater accountability.”
The government continues to develop its new operating body, Great British Railways.
Alexander said the DfTO is key to ensuring Great British Railway “does not end up as a collection of 16 separate organisations, each with their own incentives, back-office systems and structures, but rather becomes one integrated, relentlessly focused team on the passenger”. .
Among his priorities, Alexander said there would be more pay-as-you-go trials as well as more innovation around the use of AI to improve passenger experience and efficiency.
Great British Railways is a public body that will manage both the network’s tracks and trains and oversee the rail system in England, Wales and Scotland.
