Skip to main content

CPS calls for greater competition in UK rail competition

A report from the UK Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has called for greater on track competition on long distance rail routes. It says the UK’s transport authorities have been resistant to open access competition on passenger routes. Open access operators are train companies that run services over similar routes and are not subject to franchising agreements. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reported that where open access operates in the UK, such as the East Coast Mainline, passen
December 21, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A report from the UK Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has called for greater on track competition on long distance rail routes.

It says the UK’s transport authorities have been resistant to open access competition on passenger routes. Open access operators are train companies that run services over similar routes and are not subject to franchising agreements.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reported that where open access operates in the UK, such as the East Coast Mainline, passenger satisfaction is at its highest. However, the CPS believes the Department fort Transport is concerned that more open access will reduce the franchise premium.

The CPS says UK rail passengers are suffering from militant Trade Union action and poor performance by Network Rail.

It says, “A deeper underlying problem is the near absence of ‘open access’ on track competition, where two operators run services in competition over similar routes. Government should publically support competition on UK rail and show its commitment by easing the path for those seeking to deliver competition against franchise holders.”

Related Content

  • Glasgow’s new Operations Centre has a key role in city’s future
    June 6, 2014
    David Crawford investigates a control centre with a future. Destined to play a central role in keeping the city and its transport running smoothly during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July, the new Glasgow Operations Centre in Scotland’s largest urban centre formally went live earlier this year. The aim was to dry run its far-reaching integration of previously distinct core systems and familiarise the public with the initial phase of what will be a long-term post-event legacy. The centre brings together, i
  • Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    January 20, 2012
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun
  • EU offers vision of mobility
    March 26, 2021
    Major changes are in the air for ITS in Europe: José Diez of ERF considers what the European Commission’s newly-released policy strategy for sustainable and smart mobility will mean
  • Cellular communications drive the way forward for tolling
    January 18, 2012
    For more than 20 years prior to joining the ITS industry, Mike Payne of Idris, part of Federal Signal Technologies, worked for Vodafone - the world's biggest mobile operator. Here, he considers how the road tolling sector can grow and learn from the cellular industry. The global cellphone has been one of the most successful collaborative technology projects in the last 30 years. Mobile phone technology developed throughout the 20th century with the first public service in the early 70s. This was followed by