Britain’s rail franchising system has run out of steam

[John Ashworth]

Britain’s rail franchising system has run out of steam

Fittingly for the country that invented the modern-day railway, Britain has an obsession with the way its national train network is run. A big change came in the 1990s when it was privatised, but since then there have been numerous reorganisations, all prompted by repeated crises. Another overhaul is imminent: the Williams review, commissioned in reaction to abject failures on the part of several large rail franchises and led by former British Airways chief executive Keith Williams, is to report in the coming weeks. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, promises a sweeping overhaul that will deliver a “model for the 21st century”. A rejig is sorely needed...

Frustrated passengers want radical change; polls show the majority of the public favour wholesale nationalisation. This would have happened had Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party come to power. What is often forgotten is that most railway operations have already returned to public ownership: the track, signalling, and major stations are all part of nationalised Network Rail. Adding the train operators would be a relatively small step. It would not, however, be the answer...