Government plans to overhaul the country’s ailing railway system are significantly delayed while promised savings have yet to be achieved, according to a highly critical report by the government’s spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office (NAO) assessment of how ministers’ plans were progressing found the government had failed to meet any of the 12 “high level benefit” targets it set for rail in 2021.
It also revealed that the government had not delivered the £2.6bn savings it promised by 2024/25, instead forecasting that only three-quarters of the target would be achieved.
In 2021 the government published its white paper on rail reform, which included setting up Great British Railways, an arms-length body intended to provide a “guiding mind” to oversee the management of the network. At the time it had intended to have set up GBR by early 2024, as well as establish a new operating model and introduce new passenger service contracts.
However, the NAO said that these, and most of the government’s other commitments, remained either a work in progress, or completely paused.
Of the 12 high-level benefit targets, which focused on issues ranging from finances to customer performance, none had been give a green rating, which would indicate they were on track. Five had been rated red, while the remaining seven were rated amber.
It also found that none of the necessary legislation had been passed, despite 21 of the 62 commitments in the white paper requiring a change of law before they could be completed.
The 2022 queen’s speech included plans to introduce legislation by the end of the parliament that would allow structural changes to support the reforms. However, this was pushed back by the government, and the king’s speech last year did not include any mention of rail reforms, further pushing back legislation.
The NAO report found the governance arrangements for the programme had been “complex and ineffective”.
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “The speed at which DfT intended to move on a complex set of reforms gave it too little time to plan, build agreement and deliver.
“DfT should work more closely with organisations across the rail sector to help improve collaboration and culture ahead of any structural changes; clearly understand what it wants to deliver and then set out realistic plans for achieving its objectives.”
Andy Bagnall, chief executive of Rail Partners, which represents private sector rail organisations, said that the rail sector needed a “root and branch” review but without legislation, the plan would remain “stuck in the sidings”.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We have laid out a clear plan for the industry’s future under Great British Railways in our recently published draft Bill and we are now pressing ahead with improvements that will benefit millions of customers like expanding pay-as-you-go ticketing, piloting simpler fares, and announcing a target for rail freight growth.”
Separately, the DfT revealed on Thursday that delays on England’s road network were now higher than before the pandemic. Its statistics show the average delay on England’s motorways and major A-roads last year was 10.5 seconds per vehicle per mile.
This was up from 9.3 seconds in 2022 and 9.5 seconds in 2019, before the coronavirus crisis. The average speed on the network was 57.0mph in 2023, down from 58.1mph during the previous year and 58.0mph in 2019.
The RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “It’s very concerning to see delays on our most important roads increasing to above pre-pandemic levels and average speeds dropping.
“With more people than ever working from home at least part of the week and no growth in the number of cars on the road since then, we’re struggling to see what the cause can be other than roadworks.
A DfT spokesperson said: “This government backs drivers, which is why we’re getting on with our plan to invest over £24bn into our roads to reduce congestion, improve road safety and grow the economy.”
