Fairer fares?
The UK rail industry must be “more honest” about the need to address public mistrust in fares, says RDG chief.
THE UK rail industry must be “more honest” about the need to address public mistrust in fares, argues Rail Delivery Group Chief Executive Paul Plummer.
Speaking on May 9, during the Railtex exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC, Plummer praised the improved safety record of the UK rail network since privatisation in the 1990s, but said that simplifying the UK’s complex fares structure must be made a top priority in order to boost the railway’s public image.
However, he stressed that this would require “difficult conversations” on how best to overhaul it, to mitigate any negative impacts such as reduced farebox revenue.
“We’ve talked a lot about the success of our railways,” he said. “And whoever our next Secretary of State for Transport is, it’s unlikely that the first question they will ask is ‘what happens if there is a major accident?’
“We also have 29% more train services than 20 years ago, and we’ve had a period of consensus that investing in railway infrastructure is a good thing both politically and economically.
“But we have to be honest about the challenges. We are conscious that, as well as this success story, there are big issues of trust and leadership. One of the most toxic issues in my conversations with people is fares. Changing that will be incredibly hard and I don’t say that as an excuse, but there will need to be some difficult conversations about winners and losers.
“It doesn’t make sense to the public, which undermines trust in the railway, which is why we passionately welcome some of the pilot schemes.”
Plummer added that converting decades-old infrastructure to provide increased levels of equal access posed another key challenge to the industry.
He also took the opportunity to defend the private delivery of train services, at a time when the renationalisation of train operators