Transport User Voice – March 2019 – Williams Rail Review

27 February 2019

Transport Focus Board to meet Keith Williams

On Tuesday 12 March the Board of Transport Focus will sit down for a meeting in public with Keith Williams, the man leading the Government’s Rail Review looking at fundamental reform of the structure and operations of the railway. 

Keith Williams has begun to outline some of his thinking and confirmed earlier this week that he will soon issue a series of position papers and invite comments from stakeholders across the industry. The end date remains a White Paper sometime in the autumn.

Transport Focus has been supplying the review team with detailed insight into what passengers want from the rail network. The first submission – published in early February – outlined passenger needs and priorities. Reliability, frequency, value for money and accountability all featured prominently.

A second Transport Focus paper summarising the views of non-users/barriers to using rail has also been prepared and will be published in early March.

Just before its Board meets with Williams, Transport Focus will also publish the results of research it has carried out through focus groups convened in Glasgow, Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Manchester to ask passengers about the structure of rail and what they want from the review regarding:   

• the importance of the core product 
• effective management of disruption 
• value for money
• accountability and transparency.

Transport Focus argues that these issues must be seen by the Rail Review through one prism: the user. Passengers now pay the lion’s share of the industry’s day to day running costs. Their voices should be paramount, and Transport Focus will continue working to ensure that it is.

Members of the public may attend this event. The agenda is available here. Please confirm your attendance by email to  michelle.jackson@transportfocus.org.uk

Back to newsletter