Member

Unlike my Amendment A1, there are four areas which I believe should be addressed: timeliness, likely cancellations, passenger numbers and ticket costs. If there are not predicted improvements made on these benchmark tests, I do not see what the overall purpose is, never mind the possible decrease in service and increase in costs that may follow. While the current franchising system is far from perfect, it allows the Government to intervene and break a contract when it fails, and competition does drive standards, while there is not much clarity as to what would happen under the proposed changes. This amendment will also provide the public with a transparent analysis of their railways and what they can expect. Both amendments combined put the public where they should be—at the heart of improving their railway network. I beg to move.