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‘Value for Money’ commission expects clear savings potential of 30% in the British rail system

The study headed by Sir Roy McNulty proposes comprehensive reforms for the British railway system. civity contributed towards it with a Europe-wide system cost comparison.

The British rail system has seen sharp increases in passenger numbers since the mid 1990s. Despite these increases, there has been a lack of improvement in efficiency and costs. Initial analyses by the ‘Value for Money’ team have shown that overall costs should be 20 to 30% lower – particularly when the success achieved in other European countries is taken into consideration.

The international comparison with France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland carried out by civity not only shows considerably higher spending in Great Britain, but also the associated effects in terms of revenue. The consequences are higher fares and above-average subsidies. What it more, optimal use is not made of the network and trains.

The study highlights possible annual savings of 1 billion pounds through an extensive package of recommendations. These range from structural reforms to improve the cooperation between all parties involved through to a faster adoption of best practices in all areas of work. The ‘Value for Money’ team has proposed a high-ranking rail commission and a plan of implementation in order to be able to achieve these objective by 2018/19.

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