In response to the Government’s announcement on the National Express East Anglia franchise, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said:

“Today’s announcement makes clear the Government’s intention to relet the franchise to the private sector. This is welcome recognition that franchising has been a key part of the system that has brought about record levels of punctuality, investment and customer satisfaction for millions of rail passengers around the country. We now need targeted reform of the system to build on these successes to continue to deliver improvements for passengers and better value for money for taxpayers.

“This would bring greater long term stability and encourage train operators to invest more in better services. Smarter franchises would also speed up improvements to rolling stock and stations.”