A consultation on open access rail services has been launched by the Office of Rail Regulation.
Under the proposals, future open access rail operators could be ‘afforded greater rights if they are prepared to pay more’.
An ORR consultation paper, using research from MVA consultancy, concludes that such a move would help benefit passengers by reducing train fares and encourage Network Rail to reduce their costs.
Currently any rail operator wishing to launch an open access service must undergo a rigorous ‘not primarily abstractive’ test by the ORR to determine if the new services would deprive franchised train operators of revenue.
The new proposals would look at the bigger picture and examine the impact on non-rail users, such as motorists, and cost to government.
The NPA test can result in open access operators not being allowed to call at major stations, despite passing through them.
A step in the right direction. Hopefully one day this ludicrous franchise system which stifles competition and is effectively just a nationalised railway pretending to be privatised will have the tables turned on it….open access should be the ‘default’ with franchising used ONLY where a particular service is deemed by DfT to be ‘socially beneficial’ but no open access operator is prepared to provide it.
There would be true competion on routes. TOCs which provided a poor service (eg not enough coaches) would be forced to improve or else passengers would use their competitors, prices wouldnt be operated on a cartel (i.e ATOC), track access fees would go straight to Network Rail rather thann the government, sothey would get more money to invest in the infrastructure and the whole system would work on supply & demand so where pasenger demand is booming we could actually get new lines built ‘now’ instead of in 20 years time