Member

It is, of course, about striking the right balance. GBR needs to be efficient and incentivised to chase revenue growth through its financial framework, but there will always be some routes and regions in which rail travel is extensively relied on but will not make an operating profit. I am sure that noble Lords would agree that we should not be shutting off access to the railway for these communities. Therefore, although GBR will always be incentivised and encouraged to make a profit, there will be social and economic conditions where it may be unavoidable for GBR to run at a loss. There could, for example, be the need to maintain a high standard of services during a temporary economic downturn, and setting up GBR to break the law in those circumstances would create an inflexible system that does not drive the right behaviours as a whole.