Rail franchising – our response to select committee report

14 October 2016

Today the transport select committee issued its report into rail franchising.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said:

“Passengers just want services they can rely on to get where they need to be. When industrial relations break down and strike action is added to poor performance, it is passengers that suffer. Whatever sort of contract between government and train companies is used, passengers must be built into all decision-making and performance monitoring processes – this becomes more evident in periods of poor performance. Being more open about how decisions are made will help start to rebuild some passenger trust.”

Notes to editors:

• Transport Focus is the independent watchdog, speaking to thousands of passengers a year.
• Our National Rail Passenger Survey is carried out twice a year for 10 weeks at a time, getting to a fully representative sample of passengers to find out their experience in the moment.