Latest editorial
A CALL for rail companies to be able to compete with one another on the same routes smacks of “the market gone mad,” train drivers scolded yesterday.
A report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called for more competition from “open access” operators on the East Coast, West Coast and Great Western main-line routes. The findings were welcomed by transport ministers.
Such operators — with licences for individual train routes instead of holding a franchise for statutory services — have already started new services to destinations previously not connected to London, including Hull and Sunderland.
The HS2 debacle exposes what happens when public infrastructure is handed to private contractors – especially when set against China’s state-led high-speed rail success, says CARLOS MARTINEZ
On the eve of the 157th Trades Union Congress, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, celebrates victory in his campaign to get dignity for drivers at work
