Hannah Moxon, Director of External Affairs at Rail Partners, said:
‘It’s good to see the English Devolution White Paper recognising the success of devolved rail operations in London and Liverpool.
‘For devolution to deliver for passengers, Metro mayors need appropriate control over rail services, as part of an integrated transport system, to deliver meaningful improvements.
‘How Great British Railways interacts with local bodies, while running the railway as a national network, will be key to ensuring devolution is a success.’
- Transport for London, Merseytravel and Manchester’s Bee Network all offer firm public control under a single brand. But, behind the scenes, private operators act as delivery agents for buses, trams and trains, to grow usage and reduce subsidy. For example, Arriva runs London Overground and MTR the Elizabeth Line.
- The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 recently passed prohibits private sector involvement at a national level.
- For rail freight, there needs to be seamless interactions between different regions and across the country, given the services operate across geographical and political boundaries.
- The white paper published today notes that the detail around how services will be devolved like in London and Liverpool will be clarified in guidance to be published at a later date.
Rail Partners exists to make the railway better by harnessing the expertise and creativity of private sector operators for the benefit of those who use the railway, passengers and freight customers, and those who pay for it, including taxpayers.
Rail Partners provides advocacy and policy solutions for its private sector passenger owning group and freight company members. Rail Partners additionally provides technical services to train operating companies in both the public and private sectors.
