The Department for Transport has effectively ended the railway franchise system which it says is no longer suitable for a post-Covid world.
As fewer passengers are travelling by train, the railway is being propped up to the tune of £3.5billion by the taxpayer and the measures are now paving way for a 'new deal' for rail, Transport Minister Grant Shapps has announced.
The system has long been criticised for being difficult for passengers to work out - complicated ticket structures mean you can sometimes travel on a certain route but if you're on the wrong train operated by the wrong operator, your ticket isn't valid.
Passengers often find they can make big savings by buying a combination of single tickets for various stages of their journey rather than buying an end-to-end ticket. This type of confusion has to stop.
Shapps has promised that the new deal will end the uncertainty and confusion over tickets.
He said the move will mean simpler fares - but will they be more affordable for commuters?
That's the question regular users most want answered.
This Twitter user puts it succinctly:
Passengers can expect clean and punctual trains because the system will keep the best elements of the private sector, including competition and investment.
Passengers will have reliable, safe services on a network totally built around them, Shapps has promised.
Keith Williams, who was tasked to look at the structure of the railway system under the Williams Review in 2018, said the measures will 'ensure our railways are entirely focused on the passenger, with a simpler, more effective system that works in their best interest.'
Do you commute to work by train? What would a 'better railway' mean for you?
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