Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has (a) identified and (b) decided what powers and responsibilities should rest with a system operator as a custodian of overall system integrity for Southern Rail as a result of the recommendations of the Gibb report, published in December 2016.

As identified in the report by Chris Gibb, system integrity on the Southern network is a matter for the Alliance Board supported by the Thameslink 2018 Industry Readiness Board which is chaired by Chris Gibb. At an industry level, the Gibb report sets out that system oversight is now being provided by Network Rail, on a route led basis, supported by a reformed national team (Network Rail’s National System Operator). These key reforms at Network Rail will work with the Government’s approach to franchise contracts for train operating companies to make sure the rail system delivers as a whole for passengers and freight customers.