The government is looking to shake up the railway industry.
On Tuesday 6 December, at Policy Exchange, the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP made his first major speech on rail policy, setting out his agenda and priorities.
In this speech, he outlined his plan to give Train Operating Companies (TOCs) responsibility for maintenance of the track their trains run on. Currently all maintenance and renewals work is the sole responsibility of Network Rail.
This “vertical integration” structure would be a return to how things were organised in the days of British Rail, when each region was responsible for trains and track.
The first of these regions will be the newly-created East West Rail, which will be established in 2017 and will look to recreate the rail link between Oxford and Cambridge.
This must be an indictment of the current system, as no-one likes change and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” - right?
One benefit to the passenger could be less disruption as the same company co-ordinates engineering works and trains. This increased level of co-operation within a region could lead to better long-term planning for larger works, plus increased responsiveness for short-term issues that arise.
However, the franchise model could encourage short-term thinking and potentially lead to under-investment at the later stages of the franchise lifetime. Potentially, TOCs could reduce their spending until they know they have won the franchise for the next stage.
From a safety perspective, better co-operation is always a good thing, but it is important that the investment is there to support preventative actions. It could be tempting for the TOCs to cut corners for the sake of maximising profits.
It would be great to hear what you think about these proposals.
Will this structure benefit the passenger?
Watch his speech here:
Image credit: www.networkrail.co.uk
