Coronavirus: emergency measures for the railways

Purpose of the session

The Committee will hear from train operators before taking evidence from Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Minister of State at the Department of Transport and senior officials. Questions are likely to focus on:

• The costs of these emergency measures, including whether they offer the taxpayer value for money;
• The risks of contracting Covid-19 while travelling on the train and the public’s perception of these risks; and
• The reforms the Government is planning to help the railway to recover and deliver a better service for passengers in the future, including flexible fares and ticketing.

While this is a one-off oral evidence session, the topic is linked to the Committee’s inquiry on Reforming public transport after the pandemic.

Witnesses

Wednesday 18 November

At 9.30am

• Katy Taylor, Chief Strategy and Customer Officer, Go-Ahead Group
• Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First Rail, First Group
• Dominic Booth, Managing Director, Abellio

At 10.30am

• Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Minister of State, Department for Transport
• Peter Wilkinson, Managing Director of Passenger Services, Department for Transport
• Neil Hart, Deputy Director of Passenger Services, Department for Transport

Please note that Parliament has stopped all non-essential visitor access to both Houses due to the circumstances around coronavirus. The session will be available to watch online, and a transcript will be published on the website a few days afterwards.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: PA