Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the role of Network Rail in the rail franchise process to improve the coordination of (a) rail operations and (b) infrastructure delivery.

Network Rail are embedded in the rail franchising process throughout, including through the secondment of Network Rail staff to franchise project teams to provide a clear conduit for Network Rail advice and expertise.

With the publication of the Strategic Vision for Rail in November 2017, the Secretary of State set out plans to ‘end the operational divide between track and train and to establish a new generation of integrated regional rail operations’.

a) Joining up operational and communication teams between Network Rail and Train Operating Companies will improve performance, communication with passengers and restoration of services after disruption. Bringing Network Rail and the TOC closer together would mean they run better on a day-to-day basis, and would make it easier to meet the challenges today’s network faces.

b) TOCs are best placed to understand the needs of passengers and therefore to develop plans for improving rail infrastructure that will secure the greatest benefits for passengers. Both the infrastructure manager and train operator would work together with a shared vision. Giving TOCs a role in infrastructure (working closely with Network Rail) will prompt them to act as stewards for the rail network and win greatest possible benefits for passengers.