The Railways Bill: MPs examine ticketing, new passenger watchdog and accessibility
The Transport Committee will examine how landmark reforms to the railways could lead to improvements for passengers, accessibility and a simpler ticketing system.
Meeting details
The Government introduced its long-awaited Railways Bill to Parliament on 5 November.
Across three panels, the cross-party Committee will explore plans to create a new passenger watchdog out of Transport Focus, an existing consultative body, that would be given powers to monitor performance of rail services on behalf of passengers. It would sit alongside the Office for Rail and Road, which would be given enforcement powers.
Among the witnesses will be the leaders of Transport Focus, who will be asked if the new passenger watchdog will be sufficiently independent from Government and how their new role would work in practice.
MPs are also likely to question witnesses on whether proposed guardrails could lead to more affordable fares, as well as differences passengers are likely to experience under a new ticketing platform run by GBR. Independent retailers will still be allowed to sell tickets, but will have to compete with GBR’s retail arm and operate under a new Code of Practice to which GBR may not be subject.
After the Committee published a major report on accessibility on transport services earlier this year, witnesses will be asked about the Bill’s provisions for GBR to consider the interests of passengers with disabilities, and how accessibility failures should be dealt with by the new watchdog.