Putting profit first
After 30 years of privatisation, writes Vernon Price, it remains clear where the government’s priorities lie
Last week the government finally published the Williams/Shapps review into the future structure of the railways. This has the format of a white paper entitled ‘Great British Railways’ (GBR), and we are told new legislation will follow and the new structure will be in place within two years.
The ‘Williams review’ was set up by the government in the wake of the May 2018 timetable change. Readers will recall the chaos this caused, particularly affecting the trains branded as Northern, Southern and Thameslink. The new routes and improved frequencies being introduced clashed with an insufficient number of trained drivers and the inability of the tracks to handle the increased train volumes, leading to meltdown. The integrated nature of the railway network meant the collapse rippled through to other franchises operating over the same tracks, affecting services over a much wider area.