§ 12. Mr. David MartinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what benefits he expects to see for passengers as a result of his plans to privatise the railways.
§ Mr. MacGregorAs a result of the franchising of passenger services, I expect to see better services run more efficiently, better targeted to markets and hence to what passengers want and to which they will respond.
§ Mr. MartinTo dispel some of the many misconceptions put about by opponents of increased commercialisation in our railways, will my right hon. Friend confirm that there will be through ticketing and through timetabling under the new arrangements and that those arrangements will be sensible?
§ Mr. MacGregorYes, I can confirm that. As we have made clear on many occasions, we have given a clear commitment that through ticketing will continue. The regulator will have a statutory duty to promote it. Railtrack will be responsible for producing a working national timetable for the railway and will be required in its licence to make arrangements for the publication of the timetable, if it would not otherwise be published by another party.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyThe Secretary of State knows that discounted tickets are of special concern to passengers and he also knows that it has become painfully clear, under the 12 schemes that have been carried out in other areas, that Ministers have no control whatever over the actions of individual companies after privatisation. Will he stop trying to mislead people who have the misfortune to need British Rail as it is?
§ Mr. MacGregorI make it clear again that the operators will be required to participate in common ticketing and revenue allocation arrangements which are based at the outset on BR's current systems. They will therefore be able to offer through ticketing on much the same basis as at present, on a range of ticket and fare types.