(Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
(Con):...While getting the most out of franchise
arrangements is important, fostering greater competition and giving
commuters more choice is also crucial to improving the quality of
service for commuters. There are already a number of open access
operators, as was mentioned. Grand Central and Hull
Trains are consistently at the top of the
passenger satisfaction rankings, and the presence of open-access
competition has led to more passenger journeys, higher revenues and
lower fares, which suits commuters...
(Keighley) (Lab):...I
consider myself to be a democratic socialist and also a great
believer in competition, and I do not necessarily see a
contradiction between the two. One good thing that came from the
Railways Act 1993 and the privatisation of the railways was the
creation of open access operators. I could not say that it was a
bad thing, because I used to be the Member for Selby, which
previously had no direct rail link to the great city of London.
As we have already heard, Hull Trains established itself as the
pioneer of open access. It initially ran, I think, four journeys
a day to London; it is many more now. In terms of the links
between Selby and the world, seeing that direct link from London
King’s Cross to Doncaster and then to Selby and to Hull was like
having, to reference an earlier debate, a second division
football team, in the effect it had on the town’s
attractiveness...
...I say gently to my party, as we develop our policy, that it
may not be popular. If at the next election it looks as though we
are about to form a Government, my constituents will ask whether
the policy will mean the end of the Grand Central service from
Bradford to London, and people in Selby will ask whether it
will mean the end of the Hull
Trains service to London. I hope the answer to those
questions will be no. With those remarks, I sit down,
admonished...
The Minister of State, Department for Transport
(Joseph Johnson):...My hon. Friend also mentioned the
east coast main line, where there are no fewer than 11 passenger
operators, including the two open access
operators, Hull
Trains and Grand Central, which have delivered
huge benefits for the communities they serve. Alternatively, take
the west coast main line, where Great North Western Railway has
recently been granted rights to run open access services between
London and Blackpool alongside the franchised operator. That will
offer passengers a choice of operators and up to six extra direct
services to Blackpool per day, on top of the franchised services
already available to them...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
