Member

However, there are three good reasons why the Bill should be amended to ensure that London TravelWatch is made a statutory consultee alongside the new Passengers’ Council. First, approximately 70% of all rail journeys in Great Britain start, end or go through London, so, as I have already explained, the geographical remit defined as the “London railway area” covers around 400 stations—a significant proportion of the circa 2,500 stations that we have across the whole country—and stretches, going north to south, from Bedford to Gatwick Airport, and, going west to east, from Reading to Stansted Airport. So national rail policies or decisions have a significant potential to affect passengers in that wider London area.