Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements

(asked on 23rd September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) support open access train operating companies and (b) manage potential conflicts of interest between the interests of open access operators and Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements backed operators.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 1st October 2020

Unlike franchised passenger services, Open Access Operators run services without a contractual relationship with Government and there is no obligation on the Secretary of State under Section 30 of the Railways Act to run those services. Open access operators were therefore not offered Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs). During the COVID-19 outbreak, Open Access Operators have been able to draw upon the general support measures Government has made available across the economy, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Government also provided support for more bespoke measures, such as applications for extensions to track access contracts and deferrals of payments to the British Transport Police. The independent regulatory system, overseen by the Office of Rail and Road, ensures fair treatment for all companies providing rail services.

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