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THE industry must come together as ‘one railway’ to deliver reform, says Rufus Boyd, Interim Lead Director at the Great British Railways Transition Team.
Speaking at the Rail100 Breakfast Club meeting in December, Boyd pointed to “clear and successful arguments” for reform of the railway.
And while the King’s Speech in November only committed to bringing forward a draft form of the Rail Reform Bill, with the focus instead on reviewing and testing the legislation, it “remains the destination”.
He added: “It’s an opportunity for the sector to recommit to reform as one voice. Given the scale of the changes being made to the sector, it is my hope that the upcoming Parliamentary scrutiny will help improve the Bill to have a swifter passage through Parliament when legislation is brought forward.”
The draft bill also “signals that while the destination is known, it is the sector that will determine how the next 12-18 months play out. In this regard, we control our own destiny.”
Responding to the potential risk of the debate returning to alternative reform propositions, Boyd set out his five key tests for any proposal:
■ Does it make the railway simpler and better to use for passengers and freight customers? And specifically, will it facilitate and deliver to the Government’s rightful ambition for a ‘retail revolution’?
■ Will it set the railway up to better deliver the Government’s other strategic objectives for rail, such as financial and environmental sustainability, economic growth and levelling up?
■ Does it give the sector’s employees, suppliers, innovators and investors the confidence they need to make long-term commitments?
■ Would an alternative proposition bring the sector’s revenues, costs and decision-making closer together, and closer to the operational railway to deliver better outcomes?
■ Would it ensure that accountabilities are clearer, and the different parts of the system work bet
