The
Government

is
failing
to
put
the
needs
of
passengers
and
taxpayers
first,
according
to
a
new
report
by
MPs.

The
House
of
Commons
Public
Accounts
Committee
has
examined
progress
made
with
reforming
the
railway
since
Keith
Williams
was
appointed
to
restructure
the
industry
in
2018,
following
the
failure
of
timetable
changes
on
Northern
and
Thameslink
in
May
of
that
year.

The
Committee
has
taken
evidence
from
politicians,
senior
industry
figures
and
union
leaders,
but
it
notes
that
poor
performance
has
continued.

It
says
that
in
2022-23
13.7
per
cent
of
trains
were
delayed
and
3.8
per
cent
were
cancelled,
but
taxpayers
were
continuing
to
subsidise
passenger
services
at
a
level
that
the
government
considers
unsustainable,
reaching
a
total
of
£3.1
billion
in
2022-23.

The
report
recalls
that
the
Department
for
Transport
set
out
an
‘ambitious’
reform
programme
in
response
to
the
findings
of
the
Williams
Review,
but
it
has
not
made
progress
as
it
had
intended,
and
many
of
the
proposed
reforms
and
associated
benefits
are
largely
on
hold
until
the
next
Parliament
when
legislation
can
be
passed.

Another
unresolved
problem
is
that
much
of
the
railway
remains
difficult
to
access
for
many
people,
which
the
report
dubs
‘unacceptable’.

The
Committee
said
it
was
not
convinced
that
the
DfT
had
paid
sufficient
attention,
in
advance
of
the
delayed
creation
of
Great
British
Railways,
to
the
changes
it
can
make
now
to
improve
the
situation
for
passengers
and
taxpayers,
while
the
Department
has
also
failed
to
involve
railway
workers.

It
concludes:
‘Delays
to
legislation
have
been
a
contributing
factor,
but
there
are
also
fundamental
disagreements
and
issues
that
still
need
to
be
resolved
on
rail
reform
between
the
Department
and
HM
Treasury.
For
example,
the
extent
of
GBR’s
role
and
responsibilities,
including
the
level
of
independence
it
will
have.
Meanwhile,
no
one
is
putting
the
needs
of
passengers
and
taxpayers
first.
The
Department
needs
to
demonstrate
a
sense
of
urgency
in
implementing
rail
reform,
including
addressing
the
things
that
will
make
a
real
difference
for
passengers
and
taxpayers
now.’

The
DfT
has
declined
to
comment,
because
of
the
forthcoming
election.