The GTMC has welcomed a new report proposing that train companies should be allowed to compete on the same rail routes.
The report, which has put together by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and submitted to transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, said that rail passengers could benefit from greater competition if train firms could run services on the same tracks.
The CMA said that allowing “open access” on rail routes could lead to lower fares and higher passenger numbers, as well as creating “greater incentives” for operators to improve service and become more innovative.
Paul Wait, chief executive of the GTMC, praised the CMA report and called its recommendations “common sense”.
“By scrapping the present mixed picture of awarding franchises on some routes while ‘open access’ exists on others, the government could achieve a much better quality service for business - and leisure - passengers throughout the UK,” said Wait.
“We believe that open access where rail operators compete for routes – and ultimately for passengers – will act in the passengers’ favour with lower fares but a better quality service. With the CMA, we urge the government to seize the opportunity here and act quickly.”
Currently, train companies only compete directly on a handful of routes such as the East Coast main line where Grand Central and First Hull Trains operate directly against each other. But such services only represent less than 1 per cent of all passenger rail miles travelled in the UK.
The CMA said that the government could increase the number of open access services or begin splitting franchises to create more competition. The authority added that moving towards a system of multiple train operators instead of a franchise could be “worth consideration in the future”.
Alex Chisholm, the CMA’s chief executive, added: “We’ve found that there is strong evidence, both here and abroad, of the benefits that the introduction of competition on mainline intercity routes can bring.
“Where competing operators have been given the opportunity, the need to attract passengers who have a choice can mean lower fares, new routes and destinations, more innovations and flexible ticketing.”