Great British Railways will need passenger trust to succeed

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail is the Government’s blueprint for how it intends to reform the UK’s rail industry. The London Assembly Transport Committee has today published its report responding to the plan.



The evidence received by the Committee has led to a number of recommendations, including:

• The devolution of rail services to London and the need for London Overground to remain under the control of TfL in the new structure for the railway. [1]
• The Rail Transformation Programme needs to examine further evidence on the root causes of a lack of trust from passengers with the current rail system, particularly with regards to ticketing and fares.
• The need for passenger and freight services to be developed in tandem to maximise services on both sides of the rail industry.
• Understanding the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on passenger levels and travel needs.
• The need for robust consultation with passengers and railway staff ahead of any changes to the railway industry.

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said:



“Britain’s railways have long needed serious reform. The current system has disappointed passengers time and time again with poor service, poor communications and a lack of consistency across the network. The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail is an important starting point for the future of the UK’s railways. There are big opportunities - but those opportunities have to be realised.



“The evidence available in the Williams-Shapps Plan is limited and from the evidence we heard as a Committee, it is unclear at this stage where any savings will come from. But that is only one of our concerns.

“We certainly do not want to see a loss to rail devolution. London Overground should remain under the control of TfL in the new structure for the railway.

“We’re also very focussed on passengers. Often the price of a return ticket is almost the same as a single ticket. We heard evidence that a few years ago, about 30% of prospective customers would not travel on trains because they could not be sure of getting the best fare. Great British Railways will need to regain the trust of rail passengers, if they want them to embrace train travel in the future.”