Recommendation 9

We have previously reported on the problems inherent in the rail system which have led to poor performance and reliability of the network. Even before the pandemic, we and the Transport Committee had reported on the Department’s franchising model and concluded that it was a broken model.21 We reported in 2018 that the Department’s management of two important franchises (the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern and East Coast franchises) had been inadequate and were likely indicative of wider weaknesses in the Department’s ability to manage franchise contracts.22