The Transport Committee has called for more detail about the
Government's landmark reforms to the rail sector and changes to
the legislation to prevent undue political interference in Great
British Railways.
The Committee has today published two reports, wrapping up its
inquiry into the Railways Bill and its parallel inquiry examining
investment pipelines for the railways.
The Railways Bill report says the legislation gives only a
partial picture of the framework for a new regime under GBR. “Key
policies, processes and decisions are awaited, and the timetable
on which they will emerge is unknown or imprecise,” it
states.
The report adds that while this is in keeping with previous
railways legislation, much more detail is needed before the Bill
reaches Report Stage in the House of Commons. Most notably, the
report says that a draft of the new licence setting out GBR's
parameters is yet to materialise.
“The Department for Transport should publish a comprehensive
list, with target dates, of decisions, key documents and planned
consultations leading up to the establishment of Great British
Railways and in its first year of operation,” the report
states.
It also suggests the legislation should be amended to iron out
“potential tension” between the Secretary of State's central role
in the new system and the Government's expectation that GBR will
be a responsible arm's-length body.
Elsewhere, it says the Railways Bill should be bolstered to
include a duty on the Secretary of State to set a “passenger
journey growth target”.
The report states: “Increasing passenger journeys will help
achieve the Government's aims to support growth and
decarbonisation through connectivity and modal shift. It is also
fundamental to the purpose of GBR— so seems an odd omission from
the legislation.”
Published alongside the Railways Bill report, a report about the
pipeline of investment in the railway highlights that investment
has frequently been characterised by 'boom and bust' cycles which
create damaging uncertainty for the supply chain.
It says the advent of GBR is an opportunity for a new approach to
investing in the railways - but that this will require
self-restraint from the politicians who oversee GBR and the
Government should make clear how much autonomy it will be able to
exercise. The report identifies the promised Long Term Rail
Strategy and rolling stock strategy as key to future certainty
for the industry.
Chair comment
Transport Committee Chair said:
“The Railways Bill should usher in much-needed structural change
for our railways, but we still need to know more about the route
it will take and when its component parts will be coming down the
track.
“In our scrutiny of the Railways Bill, the Transport Committee
has identified a host of key documents that are yet to be
published, and we don't yet know when they will emerge. On top of
this, we found a lack of clarity over how Great British Railways
will operate as an arm's-length body that is free from political
interference and micromanagement by future secretaries of state.
“The Committee was also surprised to see that the Bill does not
have a target for increasing passenger journeys, which is surely
fundamental to the purpose of Great British Railways.
“The Government should take steps to reassure both Parliament and
the industry of movement on all these fronts.
“What is clear is that we must get past the damaging 'boom and
bust' cycles outlined in our report about the pipeline of rail
investment, with a radical new approach to certainty of spending
on the railways. The advent of Great British Railways is a golden
opportunity to get this moving, and the Committee looks forward
to hearing more about the Government's plans to reach its
destination.”
