The Society has submitted a response to the recent Call for Evidence from the Williams Rail Review.

Key points of the response were :

• As a starting point, the Review should recognize the wider and vital role of rail in the economy, environment and wellbeing of Great Britain. Options emerging from the Review should be assessed to ensure that they strengthen this role. The needs of “Wider society” are explicitly stated as an objective for the rail sector (in the “Call for Evidence”) but the assessment criteria for the Review outcomes are limited to Passengers, Affordability and The Fundamentals. “Wider society” objectives should be included as assessment criteria.
• Cost to the taxpayer is important but the Review should also consider the substantial value for money obtained by every taxpayer (not just rail users) from expenditure on the railways.
• The role of rail in supporting other government policies (eg health, economic, social equality) should be explicitly recognized and this role should be incorporated into any objectives set for the future of the rail sector. Investment in the rail sector may result in fiscal benefits to other government departments, which should be recognized.
• We urge a greater involvement in rail planning by regional and local bodies, who should have more powers and resources for specifying and funding local rail services, to ensure that rail plays an optimal role in local transport strategy.
• The interactions between rail and other transport modes, as well as land-use planning, are important and should influence the distribution of public funding to transport.
• More seamless travel in terms of physical interaction between modes, timetabling and ticketing is also important. Local authorities should be more proactively involved in station management to better integrate stations into local communities and places. There is scope for the TOC’s to effectively extend the rail network at low cost by operating quality bus services fully integrated with their rail services.

TPS Policy Group Member, Tim Morton, commented: “It is right for the Society to set out its professional views on matters like this and ensure that our professional knowledge and experience is brought fully into play. We hope our contribution will further support the development of the rail sector”

To read the full response click here