5. Statement by the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales: Future of Rail — Details of the new arrangements

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:58 pm on 3 November 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:58, 3 November 2020

Can I thank Helen Mary Jones for her questions, and also for her support of the action that we're taking? I should have added in my response to Russell George, in terms of the timing of the announcement, that, of course, news leaked on the Wednesday evening not as a result of any action by a Welsh Government official, nor by the actions of anybody in TfW or Keolis or Amey. It leaked, unfortunately, and that is why people were discovering the outcome of our negotiations before we were able to formally announce it on the Thursday.

In terms of timetabling, well, integration with bus timetables potentially will be enhanced given the increasing role the public sector will be playing in the management of bus services in the future. So, when considered alongside the reforms that are taking place regarding bus services, I think there is a very, very positive story to be told about how the public sector will be able to better manage timetables and, on top of that, fare regimes as well. Integrated ticketing is vitally important to many of the world's best rail and bus operations, and we wish to see integrated ticketing developed as soon as possible and then rolled out across the franchise and across the bus network. That's one of the reasons why we wish to retain the expertise of Keolis. They have incredible experience globally in integrated ticketing, and through the joint venture we'll be able to tap into their experience and expertise and deliver a similar integrated ticketing system here in Wales. 

I can assure Members and those 2,500 members of staff within TfW Rail Services that the transfer to TfW Rail Limited will be on the same terms and conditions. And we wish to ensure that staff remain content and secure in the knowledge that public ownership will deliver the same terms and conditions, if not better, if we can improve on them in the years to come, as would have been applied through private ownership.

We don't yet have a date from the UK Government concerning the publication of the Williams review and the response to it, but I have been assured by the Secretary of State that the 'connecting the union' review won't hold back publication of Williams. And I think that's really important because, although the 'connecting the union' review will be carried out in a short time frame, I think everybody would recognise that the publication of Williams is long overdue and cannot wait any longer. 

And in terms of the costs, there are two different costs that I think we need to differentiate: one, the costs that are associated with delivering services in the context of COVID, and then the other set of costs are those that are associated with delivering rail services in the new operating model. Because we will not be paying a profit, we have the potential then to actually make savings or to reinvest all of the revenue that is taken through the fare box back into enhanced services. I am determined to make sure that it is the latter, that we improve services with any additional revenue that we are raising, rather than, as would have been the case, paying profit.