A new CPS (Centre for Policy Studies) report has warned of Great British Railways (GBR)’s potential to ‘morph into the ghost of British Rail’ if ministers do not develop a long-term vision for its use.

The report, ‘Rail’s Last Chance: A four-point plan to save the railways’ by rail expert and CPS fellow Tony Lodge, proposes a number of measures that, according to Lodge, would lead to a successful transition to a state-owned railway company.

The report warns of GBR’s potential to ‘morph into the ghost of British Rail’

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Urging the government and GBR to both protect and promote open access passenger services, the report highlights the benefits of open access competition thus far on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), which has, according to Lodge, driven LNER to deliver a better product for customers, with European railways now looking to mimic Britain’s open access model on the ECML.

Lodge also warns that GBR should not be allowed to ‘mark its own homework’ by deciding which operators are given access to its track, with the report instead suggesting that the Office for Road and Rail (ORR) is given regulatory powers to both scrutinise GBR and its operations, alongside providing and ensuring the following of standards, as well as costs.

The report also calls for GBR to stick to a ‘ruthless focus on making train travel as easy, cheap and user-friendly as possible’ when designing a new, unified GBR ticketing app to replace those used by existing train operating companies, with suggestions such as a ‘Rail Miles’ loyalty scheme and combined rail tickets with hospitality and retail being strongly raised.

Finally, the report calls particular attention to the missed opportunities for the rail estate to generate wider additional income through commercial and residential development, renewable energy generation, light parcel freight and health hubs at stations, as well as ‘higher quality’ retail offerings.

Tony Lodge, Rail Expert and Author of ‘Rail’s Last Chance’, said:

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Great British Railways is a solution looking for a problem – prioritising the nationalisation of the railways over their effective and efficient operation.

That said, Labour is committed to bringing it forward and has the parliamentary mandate to do so. It is critical then that GBR is designed and run with customer focus at its heart; encouraging innovation and competition, promoting open access, supporting rail freight, and maximising income from the wider railway estate

Without this, Great British Railways will merely resurrect the ghost of British Rail, with all the poor performance, taxpayer subsidy, and passenger dissatisfaction that came with it.

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