Post by ALLRAIL, the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants

🇬🇧 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 | 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀? ALLRAIL supports ntegration between rail, buses and ticketing. But these objectives do not require public ownership. They can be delivered through competitively tendered concessions with strong public specification and accountability - as has been demonstrated in city regions such as Prague. Today's Merseyrail concession in the Liverpool region oif the UK already shows what competitive delivery can achieve: • Around 𝟯𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀 each year. • High levels of customer satisfaction. • A modern fleet of 𝟱𝟯 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝟳𝟳𝟳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. • Around 𝟲𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 across one of the UK's most successful urban rail networks. Now there has been a decision to bring Merseyrail into public ownership. It also is justified by the myth that it will allow more money to be "𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺". However, there is 𝗻𝗼 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 once the public sector assumes all operating risks, financing costs and liabilities. Public ownership does not eliminate costs - it transfers them. When revenues fall short or costs increase, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀. The assumption that removing private operators automatically creates additional funding for lower fares or greater investment has not been demonstrated. Similar to the proposals for Great British Railways, the published Merseyrail plans do not provide a completed business case showing lower long-term costs, reduced subsidies, cheaper fares or higher investment. Instead, they leave important questions unanswered about transition costs, future taxpayer subsidy requirements and value for money. The debate should therefore focus on evidence, not ownership. The question is not whether an operator is public or private, but which model delivers the best service, the greatest efficiency and the best value for passengers and taxpayers. https://lnkd.in/ei9i7J8N