The
RMT
is
calling
for
all
outstanding
open
access
applications
to
be
rejected,
and
for
the
existing
operators
to
be
nationalised.

The
call
comes
in
response
to
new
trading
figures
from
FirstGroup,
which
owns
Hull
Trains
and
Lumo
and
is
also
due
to
launch
open
access
services
on
two
new
routes
from
London
to
Stirling
and
South
Wales
over
the
next
couple
of
years.

The
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
is
considering
a
number
of
other
applications
at
the
moment,
including
more
from
FirstGroup
as
well
as
others
from
Alstom,
Arriva
and
Virgin
Trains.

The
government’s
public
response
has
been
mixed.
The
Department
for
Transport
has
declined
to
support
most
current
applications
and
Network
Rail
has
voiced
concerns
about
capacity,
but
the
Prime
Minister
said
‘Open
access
operators
have
huge
potential
to
offer
passengers
more
choice’
in
answer
to
a
question
in
the
House
of
Commons
on
22
May.

First,
which
is
due
to
lose
its
final
two
former
franchises
soon,
has
reported
that
its
open
access
revenues
were
up
from
£99.8
million
in
2023-4
to
£106.4
million
in
the
last
financial
year,
with
an
operating
profit
of
£34.1
million.

RMT
general
secretary
Eddie
Dempsey
said:
‘FirstGroup
is
cashing
in
off
the
back
of
a
broken
system
where
they
are
allowed
to
cherry-pick
profitable
routes,
draining
revenue
from
public
services,
and
dodging
proper
infrastructure
costs.

‘This
is
continued
privatisation
by
the
back
door.
It
undermines
Labour’s
commitment
to
a
publicly
owned
railway
and
keeps
the
gravy
train
running
for
shareholders.

‘It
is
time
to
close
the
loopholes,
stop
the
profiteering,
and
bring
all
rail
services
into
a
single,
publicly
owned,
integrated
system
that
puts
passengers
and
workers
before
private
profit.

‘We
want
an
immediate
moratorium
on
new
open
access
approvals
and
a
phased
integration
of
existing
open
access
services
into
the
publicly
owned
Great
British
Railways.’

FirstGroup
has
denied
that
it
does
not
pay
a
full
share
of
infrastructure
costs,
and
says
its
open
access
services
encourage
more
people
to
travel
by
train.

However,
a
recent
report
commissioned
by
state
operator
LNER
was
said
to
have
concluded
that
open
access
operators
on
the
East
Coast
Main
Line
would
abstract
more
than
£1
billion
in
revenue
from
LNER
over
the
next
ten
years.

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