Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has presented a number of possible future reforms that it believes would improve the level of competition within the UK’s rail franchising model.
Publishing its suggestions, the CMA also announced that it would be consulting the industry on its proposals.
The CMA presented four options that it believes could improve competition among rail operators which in turn would result in lower ticket prices, a better quality of service and a better use of network capacity.
The UK is generally viewed as having one of the most open and competitive rail operating markets in Europe.
The recommendations are the result of several months of talks with bodies such as the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Network Rail, the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport Focus.
The options are:
- Option 1 – retaining the existing market structure, but with significantly increased open access operations
- Option 2 – two franchisees for each franchise
- Option 3 – more overlapping franchises
- Option 4 – licensing multiple operators, subject to conditions (including public service obligations)
In a statement, the CMA said: “This is a project for the long term.
“The CMA would not envisage these proposals being implemented until 2023 at the earliest, so as to protect the rights of current franchisees and current and imminent franchise tender processes.
“By that time, there is also a prospect of more capacity becoming available as a result of various factors, including new signalling technology. That time frame would allow policymakers, if they are minded to explore any of these options, sufficient scope to plan implementation.”
Except for option 1, this looks like the mess of bus deregulation with all the problems of cross ticketing, low service levels or over duplicated services depending on location, total confusion amongst the public.
Competition in principle means that some businesses thrive and others fail – just as in nature. Some are bound to be better than others (that’s the point). And with trains there is often little choice about who you travel with, unless you’re going to have wasteful duplication! (Two operators between Swansea and Pembroke Dock?!) Bound to cost more, so cannot see how it will keep fares down.
With two franchisees for each franchise, each operator selected would have to run the same number of trains each day – using alternative paths. However, unless there is a great difference in fares being offered it will be just like a present-day urban bus route with a ten minute frequency, whereby the majority passengers at a stop board the first bus to arrive and then the competing operator follows empty a few minutes behind perhaps picking up a one or two passengers. Such an arrangement on the rail network could be the total ruin of more than one TOC.
“The CMA considers that these options are most likely to deliver benefits on the 3 main intercity routes in Great Britain – namely the East and West Coast main lines and the Great Western route.” So whatever you think about options 1-4, with only 3 (albeit Intercity) routes affected, this doesn’t sound like any kind of industry game-changing new policy on rail competition, but could still be very messy.