The Transport Committee has recommended the government sets up an arms-length body outside of Whitehall to look after the letting and management of rail franchises.
But will having an organisation with more commercial experience that is detached from the Department for Transport (DfT) allow more errors – like those made with the West Coast franchise – to fall through the cracks?
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A separate body would be a better way of delivering franchises, but a concession-type arrangement, as operated successfully by London Overground, Merseyrail, etc might offer a cheaper and simpler way forward.