Call for running of railways to be localised (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Call for running of railways to be localised
3:59pm Wednesday 20th February 2013 in News
Putting control of railway franchises into local hands is one of the ways to address passengers’ dissatisfaction with services and conditions, according to West Yorkshire transport bosses.
Councillor James Lewis, chairman of Metro, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, was responding to news that a report by consumer organisation Which? found more than half of train firms have a customer satisfaction score of 50 per cent or lower.
He said the current system, which sees decisions about local rail services being made in Whitehall, was part of the problem and called on the Government to press ahead with proposed devolution of the control of the North’s rail system to Metro and its partners.
“A recent report by the Campaign for Better Transport says local rail services should be managed by local authorities rather than Government,” he said.
