19 January 2004

SPT welcomes rail review

In his statement to the House of Commons today, Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling MP, has announced that there is to be a review of the structure of Britain's railways.

Commenting on the statement, Chair of SPT, Councillor Alistair Watson said:

"I welcome the Secretary of State's announcement that there is to be a review of the structure of Britain's railway industry. He continued to stress the importance of controlling costs across the network, which is something we all must strive towards.

"I am particularly pleased with his statement that decision-making on rail services should be taken locally, by democratically-elected bodies such as SPT. Decisions about services are best taken at local level, by those who know and understand the issues best.

"Indeed, SPT gave evidence to that effect to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee in their inquiry into the government's proposals for the SRA and railway regulation, in 1998.

"I look forward to contributing to this review, and hope that our evidence holds similar weight."

ends

Notes to editors

Dr Malcolm Reed, Director General of SPT, gave evidence to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee as part of the Passenger Transport Executive Group (pteg) on Wednesday 14 January 1998.

The committee was taking evidence in their considerations of the government's proposals for the SRA and railway regulation.