Rail Performance

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing my hon. Friend to ask a question. I thought he would mention the ferries as well—he also texts me often about the ferries. I am grateful for his point. The new model will deliver not only better services for passengers but a far better settlement for taxpayers, who have been ripped off under the previous model for far too long.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State very much for her statement. She has been clear that transparency for passengers will be achieved by displaying performance data. How do the Government intend to ensure that, as well as knowing whether their local line is not doing well, passengers know that their taxes are being used not simply to pay rail staff higher wages, but to get trains to reach their destinations in a time-effective and cost-effective way?

[Louise Haigh]

The purpose of displaying performance data at stations is to give passengers certainty and transparency about the state of the railways, but Great British Railways will also be far more accountable than under the current system. At the moment, to hold the railways to account, there is a complicated mix of responsibility between Network Rail, the train operating companies and the Department for Transport. Great British Railways will provide a single point of access to the railways for politicians and for communities, and we will be able to ensure that the organisation is single-mindedly delivering for passengers.