Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reform rail franchising to find a better balance between short-term returns to passengers and the sustainable improvement of passenger services.

The Department announced in 2017’s paper ‘Connecting people: a strategic vision for rail’ plans to build on the successes of franchising and create genuine, long-term partnerships between the public sector and private partners to dramatically improve the service that passengers receive.

These plans include joining-up teams on track and train to put passengers first. Passengers will be able to hold one team to account for the service they receive. And new joined-up teams will make a difference to the thousands of day-to-day operating decisions that affect passengers – transforming their journeys for the better.