A “Fat Controller” type figure should be in charge of the day-to-day operations of UK railways, the man heading a review of the network has said.
Keith Williams said the system should not be managed by the Department for Transport and that government involvement should be limited.
The former British Airways boss said instead a figure like the fictional character who manages the railways in the children’s TV series Thomas the Tank Engine should be in charge.
Mr Williams, whose review of the rail network is to be published in the autumn, told the BBC that creating an individual or organisation with oversight of the entire system would be "key for regaining public trust."
He told the broadcaster on Tuesday: "Someone needs to be accountable to the public.”
Mr Williams said it was not yet decided what relationship the body or individual would have with the government, adding that Network Rail should not take on a managerial role.
The ex-BA boss and deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership is carrying out a wide-ranging Government-commissioned review of the railways.
The government launched the review after passengers in England experienced chaos over several weeks last summer following a new timetable being introduced.
Writing in the Financial Times on Tuesday, Mr Williams said the current franchise sytem has “had its day”.
“What worked 20 years ago is now preventing innovation, long-term decision-making and stopping the railway working as a system,” he said.
“We need a different relationship between the public and private sector. One that allows train operators to get on with running services in the interest of passengers. And where ministers take far fewer decisions.”
