Member

I return to the topic of today’s debate. Privatisation of the railways was necessary because British Rail was not working, either for rail users or the British taxpayer. However, the process of privatising rail operators has not been perfect, in part because franchises operate monopolies; in that respect, they are no different from the nationalised services that they replaced. However, where genuine competition exists, rail privatisation has been a success. On the east coast main line, the Government-subsidised franchise, London North Eastern Railway, competes with open access operators Hull Trains, Grand Central and Lumo. That has led to cheaper prices for users, high satisfaction and greater punctuality, and inter-city services have been extended to new towns and cities across Yorkshire and the north-east. One of those operators, Hull Trains, now runs two direct services a day between Beverley and London, and I would love to see them extended to Bridlington and Driffield, just up the line in my constituency.