‘Devolution could boost railways’

DEVOLVING powers over transport policy to cities like Leeds and York could lead to a more efficient public transport system, according to the chief executive of a company that operates some of Britain’s busiest rail franchises.
Alistair Gordon, the CEO of KeolisAlistair Gordon, the CEO of Keolis
Alistair Gordon, the CEO of Keolis

Alistair Gordon, the chief executive of Keolis UK, believes the UK regions could learn a lot from the system in London, where a co-ordinated approach helps to create a public transport network that works better because it connects buses and trains. Mr Gordon, who lives in York, said he is a “passionate fan” of rail privatisation, because he believes it has created a railway system that is the envy of Europe, despite customers’ complaints over delays and fare rises.

Keolis, which is 70 per cent owned by SNCF, France’s state-owned railway operator, is already involved in a number of UK franchises, including the Docklands Light Railway in London. Keolis currently operates the TransPennine Express franchise in partnership with First Group. The franchise is being re-let, and Keolis has been shortlisted to operate it from February 2016, in partnership with Go Ahead, with Keolis as the majority partner. Keolis has also been shortlisted for the Northern franchise, under its Govia JV, where Go Ahead are the majority partner. A decision on both bids is expected later this year.

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Mr Gordon said: “Very few passengers who use the train want to go to the station. They want to go to somewhere in the city, and having good public transport in the city is key to that. We operate all around France, where they’ve invested in public transport and have a model like London, where there are devolved powers and the city decides on the transport system, rather than leaving it down to competition, and we find that that’s more efficient, in the cities.

“The public transport system that meets the railway station should be improved...Once you get into Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and York, the public transport there; that’s where they really should have devolved powers.”

Keolis has four rail franchises and tram operations that help to sustain more than 11,000 jobs, including the UK’s only high speed rail network HS1, between London and Kent.

He said: “History shows that, when privatisation happened, the UK rail network had massive increases in safety, punctuality and reliability and customer satisfaction, which has driven passenger numbers. If you compare the UK rail network to all the main networks in Europe they look at us with envy and ask how we’ve managed it. We’ve managed it through commercial organisations coming in and really driving efficiencies and driving that ‘customer’ champion.

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“If you look back at the network changes that have happened since privatisation, it’s quite phenomenal with the new rolling stock and the way the stations have improved. That is mainly due to the way the network has been set up. Is it perfect? Probably not.”

However, Mr Gordon said the private sector had brought fresh ideas and “had really driven change” on Britain’s railways.

A Keolis spokesman described a report in The Times, which stated that Eurostar and Keolis are planning to bid for the West Coast Main Line franchise, as “speculation”.