ORR’s Whittington endorses more open access operation
OPEN access operators could play a greater role on key inter-city routes, says Office of Rail and Road (ORR) Chief Executive Joanna Whittington.
Giving evidence to the Transport Select Committee’s ongoing inquiry into rail franchising on September 5, she said: “We see there is a real opportunity now for open access to play a more significant role.
“The benefits are there today, albeit on a very small scale, and the opportunity to roll this out across more of the inter-city routes would seem to be to the benefit of passengers overall.”
Whittington said that she believed there is the potential for two or three open access operators on the Great Western, West Coast and East Coast routes, in addition to the franchisee.
She added that she believed extension of open access would encourage more entrants to the rail market: “The possibility of a bigger open access market would encourage new entrants to bid for franchises, because currently if you don’t get the franchise you’re not in the market, whereas if open access was a larger part of the offering, if you didn’t get the franchise you would still have an opportunity to develop your business ahead of the next franchise.”
Explaining the effects of existing open access operation, she told MPs: “Open access already forms part of the offering. We see fares tend to be lower on those routes where there is competition, and that benefit applies not just to people using open access services but to anyone using the route, because it is then fed through in a competitive response the franchise makes.
“We’ve seen other product innovations, so you get new pointto-point services as a result of open access. But Grand Central was the first to introduce on-board WiFi, and First Hull Trains was the first to introduce real-time operational information.
“This combination of fares and product innovation is then reflected in positive passenger growth. You see high levels of passenger satisfaction - over 94% for Grand Central and First Hull Trains currently.”
On the issue of the contribution that open access operators make to the costs of running the rail network, Whittington told the TSC: “The reforms we’ve been talking about in terms of track access charges and the possibility of a levy would address the tension we currently see between the Secretary of State’s funds and the benefits open access can bring to all users.
“Open access operators don’t currently make a contribution to fixed costs of the network. The question is whether by better understanding how those fixed costs of running the network vary with the number of trains operating on it, should open access operators make a greater contribution to the costs of running the network? On the routes talked about, existing industry processes would provide protections, so the overall package would be co-ordinated and provide a good service for passengers.”
But Whittington also said she opposes extending open access to regional and commuter franchises: “I don’t think it’s a model we would want to see extended to other markets at this point - it’s very much something we see focused around the big inter-city routes.”
Another witness at the inquiry, Competition and Markets Authority Acting Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli, said that greater use of open access could improve performance.
“If you had, for example, the franchise on the East Coast Main Line operating 75% of services with the remainder open access, if the franchisee underperforms passengers could vote with their feet,” he said.
“Direct competition - where it works today - is a very effective tool to deal with underperformance.”