The Government have announced that their commissioned study on the rail industry will be released in the autumn. It is expected that the report by Civil Aviation Authority chairman, Sir Roy McNulty, will call for fundamental reform including a review of fares, increasing some and reducing others.
Railways and train travel in Europe are generally regarded as being cheaper, cleaner and more efficient than in the UK where railways are 30% dearer.
The General Secretary of the RMT Union said the blame for the poor state of our railways lies with privatisation and Sir Roy predicts a possible saving of £1B in the next 7 years without cutting services. Cutting staff would no doubt cause a great deal of trouble with the Unions and he proposes creating more car parking spaces at railway stations to increase revenue.
Any changes will affect the whole of Scotland, England and Wales. Northern Ireland is fully funded by the NI Executive.
With ever increasing industry costs it remains to be seen whether or not the proposals will be implemented and when the UK can boast a modernised and efficient railway system.
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