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Remember ‘Failing Grayling’? The former Transport Secretary will go down as one of the most unpopular cabinet ministers of all time.
Among other things, he took the blame for bungled timetable changes which led to cancelled trains and general chaos on rail services across much of the country.
After three years in charge at the Department for Transport, Chris Grayling quit the Cabinet in July last year. He’s now a humble backbench MP.
But the ghost of Grayling continues to hover over the rail network. Because the Government is poised to introduce major changes to the railways. While current Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will be making the announcement, it was Chris Grayling who put the changes in motion.
In 2018 he commissioned Keith Williams, chairman of Royal Mail, to lead a “sweeping review to transform Britain’s railways”.
Like much else at Westminster, publication of the findings was delayed while the Government attempted to deliver Brexit. But we know that the Williams Review is set to publish its recommendations soon.
We also have a pretty good idea what it’s going to say, because Mr Grayling made it clear from the start what he wanted the review to look at.
It included some form of devolution of the rail network, giving local or regional political leaders a measure of control.
At the moment, franchises are awarded by the Department for Transport. Private firms (such as Virgin Trains or Arriva) submit proposals to run trains, and the Transport Secretary, or his or her officials, decide which bid to accept.
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Devolution would mean council leaders and regional mayors, perhaps acting through regional transport authorities, having control – or a share of control – over who receives a franchise, and responsibility for making sure the franchise holder delivers the service promised. Something like this already happens in the North, where Transport for the North (a body accountable to local mayors and councils) helps the Department oversee the Northern and TransPennine rail franchises.
But for this to mean anything, local leaders need the power to take action against rail firms that let passengers down – something Transport for the North lacks.
The review is also likely to recommend ending the division between operating trains and managing rail infrastructure, including tracks. At the moment, private firms run trains while Network Rail, a Government-owned national business, manages the infrastructure.
It’s likely that the review will call for franchises to become public-private partnerships overseeing both. That’s certainly what Mr Grayling wanted.
Whether changing the rail system will lead to better services remains to be seen. But such is the nature of our political system that the man who kick-started the process won’t be around to take the credit or blame.
