Regional Business Information for the West Midlands
Centro weighing up whether to bid for control of rail services
22nd June 2012
Geoff Inskip
TRANSPORT authority Centro will decide next week whether to formally tell the Government it is keen to take over responsibility for local rail services on behalf of authorities across the wider West Midlands area.The authority believes that switching power from Government to the region would mean a better deal for passengers and taxpayers, while supporting economic growth and job creation.The Government recently launched a national consultation on the principle of devolving rail powers from Whitehall to the regions and has asked Ce......for the full story register now for free or login below...
On paper this seems like a rational case but the statement “better fares integration” worries me. Centro has close ties with National Express and we have seen fares skyrocket on buses and passenger numbers fall drastically, it has not been able to do anything to stem this flow, nor has it made any serious attempt to foster competition to keep the fares low. Lord Adonis said as much. Currently, train fares are a fraction of the cost of buses, Centro’s planned integration may mean that they are raised to abusively high levels. Provided, there are safeguards to avoid these fears, and only if, then the plan should be given consideration.
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