Taxpayers taken for a ride

While the architects of the financial system laid the groundwork for an explosion of incompetence in 2008, the political and regulatory masters of the trains have created the conditions for a slow-burning crisis which has been with us since privatisation in the 1990s.

The result is a national network that hits ordinary people in the pocket time and again: with above-inflation fare rises, with a shortfall of up to £380m in lost revenue after the failure of National Express’ East Coast franchise and trains that are hot, late and overcrowded.

Sir Roy McNulty’s recommendations, which could deliver savings of up to £1bn a year by 2019, are a starting point for debate rather than a comprehensive set of solutions. It is right that buying a ticket, particularly for intercity journeys, is made simpler and cheaper yet his conclusions still raise concerns.

A “rebalancing” of fares does not go far enough when ticket prices are already among the highest in Europe. Indeed travel into a city centre at peak times is particularly expensive, as well as being fraught, and Sir Roy ought to have said more about how these problems can be tackled.

Similarly he could have explained how franchising should be reformed. The current system sees the taxpayer coughing up £5bn a year for the rail network while train operating companies, without long-term contracts, have little incentive to invest in their ageing set of rolling stock.

In 2011, when budget cuts are crippling public services, the onus should be on subsidised train operating companies to put the needs of passengers before pure profit. If they provide more carriages then travellers will vote with their feet and profits and shareholder returns will surely follow.

Clearly some aspects of rail travel have improved since the 1980s, when British Rail was known for delays, its trademark rock-hard fruit cake and – most importantly – safety problems. The progress brought by privatisation has, however, been slow, piecemeal and enormously expensive. It is time to get the railways back on track.