Arriva Group reposted this
Our Managing Director David Brown recently spoke with Paul Clifton about the importance of unlocking the potential of open-access operators, which provide vital connectivity for people and businesses in areas of the country that would otherwise be underserved by the regular timetable. In the interview, David sets out four key areas that can be addressed now to empower open-access operators like Arriva’s Grand Central Rail to drive further innovation, value for money and growth: 1. Clarity on scoring criteria – There must be greater clarity on precisely what tests are being used to secure open access applications. Operators need to know the criteria their applications are being judged against, with clear guidance on the overriding priorities and objectives that will determine success. 2. Visibility of spare capacity – Greater transparency is needed from Network Rail, or its successor, over what capacity is available for use. It can often be incredibly challenging to see what paths are possible. 3. Speed of decision making – The decision-making process must be streamlined. We know from Grand Central’s own experience introducing a new stop at Peterborough that the current process is overly complex and leads to unnecessary delays, especially once the bid is submitted. 4. Length of access agreements – If an application is successful, the access agreement should be long enough to provide the level of certainty the operator needs to be able to properly invest in its fleet and its colleagues. You can read more on David’s interview with RAIL Magazine's Rail Review here. https://lnkd.in/ei-b6UdW