Railways: Franchises
(asked on 10th July 2017) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of rail franchising.
This question was answered on 13th July 2017
The benefits of franchising to passengers and taxpayers are clear. The private sector have invested billions in new trains. Government subsidy to the industry has reduced by £2.5bn over ten years. Whilst passenger numbers have doubled since privatisation.
All this is on top of our ongoing £38bn investment in infrastructure. We always assess franchising decisions against the best interests of passengers and taxpayers.