PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(2 December 2024)

Whilst the Department has not made an assessment of the impact of train delays on productivity, we recognise the inconvenience and costs felt by passengers, local communities and businesses arising from poor performance.

Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. The Department expects passenger services currently operated by private sector operators under contract with the Secretary of State to transfer into public ownership over the next three years. The failures of the past three decades cannot be fixed overnight, but bringing train operations into public ownership is the first step in the government’s plans to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers.