The
first
major
manifesto


includes
a
promise
to
freeze
railway
fares
and
simplify
the
ticketing
system.

The
Liberal
Democrats
also
say
that
the
party
would
extend
railway
electrification
‘significantly’,
improve
stations
and
accessibility,
reopen
smaller
stations
and
complete
Northern
Powerhouse
Rail.

Restoring
the
northern
leg
of
HS2
to
Crewe
and
Manchester
is
not
ruled
out.
The
party
says
the
decision
to
cancel
Phases
2A
and
2B
will
be
reviewed,
to
see
if
it
would
provide
value
for
money,
including
private
investment,
or
if
an
alternative
would
be
possible.

There
is
no
mention
of
Great
British
Railways,
at
least
not
by
that
name.
Instead,
there
would
be
a
new
Railway
Agency,
which
would
‘help
to
join
up
the
industry
–
from
track
to
train
–
putting
commuters
first,
holding
train
companies
to
account,
and
bringing
in
wholesale
reform
of
the
broken
fare
system’.

Private
sector
rail
operators
would
continue
to
exist,
but
the
approach
to
them
would
be
‘far
more
proactive
in
sanctioning
and
ultimately
sacking
train
operators
if
they
fail
to
provide
a
high-quality
public
service’.

Other
developments
would
include
exploring
the
introduction
of
an
annual
railway
pass
and
working
with
local
authorities
on
the
development
of
more
tram
systems,
in
cases
where
these
are
‘appropriate
solutions’.

All
new
rail
lines
would
be
electrified
‘as
standard’.
while
there
would
be
an
international
rail
strategy
to
support
new
routes
and
operators,
and ‘permitting
other
operators
to
use
the
Channel
Tunnel
and
HS1’.