Following the report on the future of the railways launched today Metro Mayor Dan Norris said:
“Nearly three years after it was commissioned, this report has finally seen the light of day but unfortunately it still raises more questions than it answers. There are lots of warm words here and a good new title of “Great British Railways” but the devil is in the detail. I agree that local people are best placed to make local decisions, so I welcome the idea of giving local leaders a greater say in how our railways are run in our area. But there is no new cash here – it is about using funds raised locally – despite the fact we get £595 less per person for transport infrastructure than London. I’d also have liked to see more detail on flexible tickets as we move to new patterns of working and commuting as well as more detail on how to accelerate decarbonisation of our rail network.”