16.10.15
TfL should take control of London rail services, says City Hall
Control over London’s suburban rail services should be devolved to Transport for London (TfL) and the mayor, a City Hall report has recommended.
The London Assembly’s report ‘Devolving rail services to London: Towards a South London Metro’ claims that the current rail network is “failing” to meet passenger needs and is “struggling” to cope with increasing demand.
Citing figures from the Department for Transport, the report highlighted that last year 40% of morning peak services arriving in the capital were overcrowded and reliability has fallen with 16% of London and south east rail services arriving at least five minutes late.
It states that devolving control will help solve these problems, with TfL running services as concessions, rather than using the traditional franchise model used by the Department for Transport.
However, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies and Network Rail, says that some of the best passenger satisfaction levels are achieved in London and the south east under the current system.
The Assembly’s Transport Select Committee started its investigation in June 2015 and believes that TfL should become the commissioning authority for suburban rail, as it has “demonstrated its ability to carry out this role already with the London Overground network”.
Valerie Shawcross CBE AM, chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said: “There is a growing consensus that rail devolution to London is a good idea, including among passengers both inside and outside of London.
“Our report makes recommendations for the future of the South Eastern and the South Western franchises. We also make suggestions for passenger engagement, infrastructure planning and financial risks.”
She added the report also found that the nightmares at London Bridge station might have been avoided, had a “strong partnership existed between Network Rail and TfL”.
The report states that a priority for the mayor and TfL in the immediate future should be to gain control of suburban routes on three franchises serving south London, as this is where Londoners are most reliant on National Rail services. The first of these is the South Eastern franchise, due for renewal in 2018.
However, the report acknowledged there are some “significant” challenges to overcome to persuade the government of the case for reform.
A spokesperson for the RDG added: “Private train companies already work effectively with TfL, whether by operating London Overground or ensuring that passengers can use their tickets to travel across both TfL and national rail.”
Stephen Locke, chair of London TravelWatch, said that his organisation is a strong supporter of the principle of devolution of rail franchising to the mayor and building on the achievements that the London Overground model has delivered for passengers, including decent standards for stations, enhanced ticketing facilities, additional staffing and improved passenger information.
“The initiative now lies clearly with the Department for Transport, and we hope that they will give serious and detailed consideration to the issues and evidence set out in this report,” he said. “Rail passengers in the London area, especially in South London, deserve much, much better services than they are getting now.”
A DfT spokesperson told RTM: “We continue to be open to all ideas for making journeys better for rail customers in London. Some rail services in London have already been devolved, including most recently parts of the Great Eastern Main Line in advance of Crossrail. Our franchising programme has generated massive benefits for passengers and the economy, including more seats, more trains and better services.”