Opinion: On track for a better and unified rail future - Duncan Crow

Whether it’s northbound towards London, southbound towards Brighton and the coast, or southwest bound towards Chichester and Portsmouth, we have great rail access to many destinations from Crawley

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While I’ve hardly been outside of Crawley at all during the last 14 months, I hope to get out more in the months ahead and taking the train is always a good option. I’m also looking forward to the investment and improvements we have coming for Crawley station and for the Three Bridges Forecourt scheme, making them both better for the future. We have also seen a huge amount of investment in the rail network across the country over the last decade. Rail literally never stands still.

However, I’m not going to claim everything is perfect on our railways, so I’m pleased that our Conservative Government is determined to make our railways great again.

Last week, they announced the formation of a new public body, Great British Railways. This plans a new era that will put passengers first and invest in the future of the network, delivering a rail system that meets our country’s future needs. Our railways were born and built to serve our country, but I think it fair to say that years of fragmentation, confusion and over-complication has seen that vision fade, with passengers let down.

This new plan for our railways which puts passengers first, is backed by what will be a single, familiar brand - Great British Railways.

This will fuse the best of the public and private sector to deliver better value passenger fares and which will ensure train operators are focused on delivering punctual, high-quality journeys with simpler and clearer prices.

These reforms mark a new era in the history of our railways - forging stronger connections and levelling up communities from across the country as we build back better from the pandemic. It’s the biggest change in 25 years and the formation of this a public body will create a single brand with united and accountable leadership.