Shapps: interim arrangement when Emergency Measures expire

An interim arrangement between the end of the Emergency Measures Arrangements (EMAs) and the implementation of recommendations from the Williams Review is set to be put in place.

EMAs were introduced on March 23 to ensure franchises could continue running trains for key workers. Every operator would have failed without them, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs on June 24.

“The EMAs exit on September 20 as it currently stands. We are working very hard on that indeed, but one big piece to consider is Williams,” he told the House of Commons Transport Select Committee.

Shapps claimed that a White Paper based on the review would have been released by now, had the Coronavirus pandemic not hit the UK. He said it would be published by the end of the year but was unsure in what form, as the majority of the changes were needed to introduce the EMAs (where the revenue risk is transferred to Government).

Transport for London-style concessions are set to be the future model, Shapps suggested, although between their introduction and the ending of the EMAs there could be an interim arrangement. He did not elaborate on what this might be.

“We will have TOCs [train operating companies], but in a concession model,” he said. “They will not be making direct decisions regarding investments. They will be charged to run trains on time.”

Shapps also revealed to the

TSC that “it breaks my heart as Secretary of State to tell people not to use rail”.

Answering questions on issues related to all modes of transport in the UK during the COVID-19 crisis, he said the message remains that if people want to make a journey, they should first consider walking, then cycling, then a private car. After that, people could use public transport for essential journeys, but the advice is now to maintain one-metre-plus social distancing where required.

“I recognise that it is extremely challenging to run public transport services while at the same time I am sending out messages to avoid them unless you have exhausted other options,” he told the TSC.