Open consultation: Williams Rail Review

Updated: Clarified the closing date to reflect the fact that the evidence portal will remain open until the end of May 2019.

This call for evidence is to support the Rail Review, led by independent chair Keith Williams. The review was established to recommend the most appropriate organisational and commercial frameworks to support the delivery of the government’s vision for the railway.

The review invites written contributions to inform its work on any or all of the review principles, as set out in its terms of reference:

commercial models for the provision of rail services that prioritise the interests of passengers and taxpayers rail industry structures that promote clear accountability and effective joint-working for both passengers and the freight sector a system that is financially sustainable and able to address long-term cost pressures a railway that is able to offer good value fares for passengers, while keeping costs down for taxpayers improved industrial relations, to reduce disruption and improve reliability for passengers a rail sector with the agility to respond to future challenges and opportunities

The review will look at the whole rail industry, including:

increasing integration between track and train how to improve transport services across UK regions and devolved nations, including exploring options for devolution of rail powers improving value for money for passengers and taxpayers

The following topics are not considered by the review and this call for evidence:

public investment decisions made through existing franchise agreements railway funding 2019-2024 commitments (Control Period 6) High Speed 2 and other major projects spending decisions made through the Spending Review 2019

Your evidence will inform the review and will be considered alongside other evidence received. The review’s findings and recommendations will be published in a government white paper in autumn 2019, with reform of the sector to begin in 2020.

Timings

We are seeking your evidence and input throughout the review, and have clarified the closing date to reflect this.

To inform the review’s initial ‘listening’ phase, where possible we ask that evidence is submitted by 18 January 2019. However the evidence portal will remain open until the end of May 2019 and all responses will be reviewed by the team. In the later phases of the review we will use the evidence portal to seek input on more specific questions.

You can contact the Rail Review team and feed in evidence at any time using the email rail.review@dft.gov.uk.

Background

The government’s vision is to have a world-class railway, working as part of the wider transport network and delivering new opportunities across the nation. The Rail Review was established by the Transport Secretary to recommend the most appropriate organisational and commercial frameworks to support the delivery of the government’s vision.

The review is led by independent chair Keith Williams, the former chairman and chief executive of British Airways.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/williams-rail-review

seen at 16:38, 14 December in Publications on GOV.UK.
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