ATOC

ATOC welcomes Commons committee report on Railways bill
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date 10 November 1999
source ATOC
type Press release

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) today welcomed the conclusions of the inquiry by the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee into the Railways Bill and the proposed role of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).

ATOC expressed support for the theme permeating the report of the importance of investment in the railways, and noted in particular the recognition by the Committee of the paramount need to secure additional investment through the mechanism of franchise replacement (paragraph 84).

The Committee's report recognises ATOC's concerns on a number of points:

On the need for publication of the SRA's strategies, the Committee has recommended that the SRA should present an annual report to Parliament, including its existing and future strategies (paragraph 15)

On the SRA's role as 'operator of last resort', the Committee has recommended that the SRA should only directly operate services in the event that no satisfactory bid has been received or that a service has failed, and that equivalent conditions to those of private sector operators should apply (paragraph 78);

on the power to amend operators' licences, the Committee has recommended that the SRA should not be able to make amendments to licences where such changes would properly be dealt with through a franchise agreement (paragraph 115).

George Muir, ATOC Director General, said: "There is much good sense in the Committee's report, which is an important step towards getting more investment in the railways.

"ATOC looks forward to seeing the Committee's recommendations incorporated into the Railways Bill by the Government, and the enactment of the legislation at the earliest opportunity."



ENDS

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ATOC Press Office: 0171 904 3010

Railhub Archive ::: 1999-11-10 ATO-001