Heidi Alexander suggests operators are not paying their way
Alexander: ‘Open access can create pressure on the network’
Rail Partners has responded to a letter from transport secretary Heidi Alexander urging the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to adopt stricter criteria for approving new open access rail applications.
Alexander’s letter to ORR chair Declan Collier outlined concerns about the financial and operational impacts of the growing number of open access services. In recent months, there has been a surge in applications, principally from FirstGroup.
In the letter, Alexander acknowledges that open access operators can deliver significant benefits by increasing competition, fostering innovation, and expanding travel options, particularly for underserved markets. However, she advises the ORR to ensure that “the benefits provided by open access operators outweigh the impacts they have on taxpayers” and calls for greater scrutiny of new applications to protect public investment.
She continued: “I am also aware of the additional pressures new services can create on already constrained network capacity and their impact on the value secured from public investment in infrastructure.
While open access operators pay variable access charges to Network Rail … they do not fully cover the costs of fixed track access charges towards long-term maintenance of the network and central support costs
“While open access operators pay variable access charges to Network Rail to cover the direct costs incurred running their trains on the network, unlike government contracted operators they do not fully cover the costs of fixed track access charges towards long-term maintenance of the network and central support costs.”
The transport secretary added that only one open access operator currently contributes to fixed costs on the network via an infrastructure cost charge and claimed “taxpayers are left to fill shortfalls”.
Alexander concluded: “I want to ensure appropriate balance between these elements, and my priority is to see the network move to a financially sustainable model which maximises benefits and value for passengers and taxpayers while delivering improved performance as we move towards public ownership.”
Rail Partners, which represents Britain’s private train operators, expressed concern over the potential impact of a stricter approval process for new open access applications.
Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall pointed out that the past 18 months have seen significant progress for open access operators, with growing recognition of their value.
Open access operators create new travel opportunities especially for underserved communities, support economic growth and encourage a shift to greener transport options
“Open access operators create new travel opportunities especially for underserved communities, support economic growth and encourage a shift to greener transport options,” Bagnall said. “They also promote fares competition and, importantly for taxpayers, they receive no government subsidy.”
He also referenced recent positive signals, including prime minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the Hitachi rail factory in Newton Aycliffe, which showcased support for FirstGroup’s open access operations. Despite this progress, Bagnall cautioned that raising the bar for new applications could undermine the sector’s potential.
“If the government doesn’t make a positive choice to grow the sector through adequate safeguards and a fairly-adjudicated process, it will effectively be creating the conditions for existing operators to wither on the vine,” he warned.
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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