UK: The government’s decision to publish a draft rather than full railway reform bill is a missed opportunity, rail industry bodies said following the King’s Speech at the opening of Parliament on November 7.
The government said that given the scale and complexity of the planned changes, the draft bill would undergo pre-legislative scrutiny to provide parliamentarians and experts with the opportunity to review and test the legislation. This would allow for a swifter passage when the legislation is brought forward.
However, concerns have been raised that this means the legislation is now unlikely to pass before the next general election, which must be held by January 28 2025 but for practical reasons is likely to be earlier.
Great British Railways
Legislation is needed to give the future Great British Railways the legal powers it will need under the government rail sector reform plans.
Management of the network and commissioning of passenger services would be brought together, with the Secretary of State’s franchising authority functions transferred to Great British Railways so that operational and infrastructure decisions are made in a co-ordinated way. The new body would serve as a single point of accountability, replacing a split between Network Rail and the Secretary of State.
Specific duties in relation to accessibility and freight would be set out in Great British Railways’ licence.
The government said ‘we need a pragmatic partnership between state and industry, properly harnessing the dynamism and efficiency of the private sector’ to drive investment and innovation.
Rail Minister Huw Merriman added that ’we will continue to transition towards GBR while delivering reforms which don’t require legislation, including simplifying fares and ticketing and setting a target to grow rail freight’.
Plans include the roll-out of pay-as-you-go ticketing and single-leg pricing.
Responses
Transport Select Committee Chair Iain Stewart MP said ‘while we hoped for a full bill at this stage, it is encouraging that the draft bill has been published. I would urge the government to proceed as quickly as possible with the scrutiny stage.’
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said ’a draft bill, with no prospect of becoming law, years after promised reform is a staggering admission of failure’. She said Labour would ‘bring contracts into public ownership as they expire, and deliver a publicly owned and unified rail network, with every decision tested against delivering for the passenger’.
Railway Industry Association CEO Darren Caplan urged the government to begin the scrutiny process ‘without delay’, saying ‘whilst we would have wanted a full transport bill providing for GBR, today’s inclusion of a draft bill does seem to be progress and a statement of government intent to reform rail’.
Rail Partners CEO Andy Bagnall said ‘it is a missed opportunity to not actually legislate in this parliament’, and ’not seizing the moment now means continuing uncertainty until after the next general election’.
The Campaign for Better Transport asked ‘why a draft bill rather than a commitment to legislate, given this has already been subject to extensive discussion and is largely non-controversial?’
Mark Plowright, Director at Virgin Trains Ticketing, said ‘a simpler fares structure, where fewer fares are made available across all retail channels, is urgently needed’. He said ’it is also reassuring to see the draft bill recognise the value of the private sector in driving innovation’, as ‘a level playing field and the right commercial environment will help retailers like us to drive down costs and increase innovation’.
Director of the Urban Transport Group Jason Prince said ‘many of the much-needed transport laws promised in the current parliamentary session have once again failed to materialise’, and only presenting a draft rail reform bill means ’effectively leaving any prospect of reform this side of the general election stuck in the sidings’.
