A “timetable czar” could be appointed to prevent a repeat of the travel chaos that saw hundreds of trains a day cancelled and millions of passengers suffering continued disruption.
In May, the UK’s largest ever timetable changes turned into a disaster with different parts of the rail industry each blaming the other for the fiasco.
Rail chiefs were today forced to admit that a “fundamental shift” in how things are done must now take place.
The Office of Rail and Road, the regulator, today published the second part of its inquiry into the debacle, recommending a series of changes.
In every project, impact on passengers will be a central consideration — as it should always be
Professor Stephen Glaister
Stephen Glaister, who led the inquiry, found there was a “perception” that no one was in overall control and there was a failure to put passengers at the heart of decision-making.
There will now be further discussion of whether a single person, or body, should take overall charge of planning.
The czar would collate all the fragmented parts of the industry to provide a “unified and cohesive” approach to timetable planning.
Professor Glaister said: “Passengers were let down by the rail industry on 20 May and the weeks that followed.
"We found systemic failures that needed to be resolved. Our recommendations will now mean that in every project, impact on passengers will be a central consideration — as it should always be.”
The recommendations include bringing in independent, system-wide advice and auditing as soon as possible for major network changes to spot problems before they affect passengers.
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “Passengers were badly let down in May and we apologise for the part we played in that. We agree that a whole system approach to timetable planning and implementation, with effective oversight and accountability, is the way forward.”
A separate year-long review of the railways, headed by deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Keith Williams, is under way.
Meanwhile South Western Railway (SWR) has cancelled “major” timetable improvements due to come into force on Monday because of fears it could lead to yet more problems.
SWR said a period of “stability” was needed before the timetables are changed again. The changes, which would have increased capacity to and from Waterloo, have been delayed probably until next May.
Great Western Railway, which serves routes to and from Paddington, has also delayed timetable changes for the same reason. However GTR is still due to implement 200 additional weekday services on Thameslink and Great Northern routes from Monday.
