An article published in The Daily Telegraph covers evidence given by Nick Brooks, Secretary General of ALLRAIL, to the Transport Committee of the UK Parliament.

The article reports on ALLRAIL’s warning that Britain risks becoming the only European country without a strong, independent rail regulator, following proposals linked to the creation of Great British Railways (GBR).

As quoted in the article:

“AllRail, which represents independent passenger-train companies, said Britain will become the only European country without a strong independent rail regulator.”

Nick Brooks told MPs that weakening the role of the independent regulator would be a serious mistake:

“Watering down the ORR’s role was ill-advised. With GBR writing the rules and controlling capacity, while also being linked to the main operator, there is a structural conflict of interest. I don’t know of other European countries that do not have a strong independent rail regulator. To be the judge and the jury at the same time is somewhat worrying.”

ALLRAIL’s evidence underlined the importance of maintaining a genuinely independent Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to ensure fair access, effective oversight, and a level playing field for all passenger rail operators.

You can find the article here.