What if the Mayor takes over London's railways?

At the launch of the pan-London Oyster card at the beginning of the year I asked the Mayor Boris Johnson if he wanted to take over London's overland rail system.

I seem to remember he smiled diplomatically, played the straight bat saying Train Operating Companies must deliver want Londoners want - more regular services, ease of payment and safe stations.

Oyster has sorted out the payment (not without some quirks and glitches it has to be said) but it seems the rest may now happen.

As part of the Mayor's "Proposals for Devolution" plans are being proposed to give the Mayor more control over rail in London. It says:

"The Mayor and Secretary of State for Transport should jointly award the rail franchises for those suburban rail lines which are largely contained within the boundaries of greater London, to ensure a more integrated transport system. The Mayor should have a formal role in monitoring the franchises."

Commuters aren't going to complain if this improves suburban rail services and for many it will make sense.

However, as we've discovered recently some franchises like the East Coast mainline can start with the best of intentions and still hit problems when passenger numbers fall.

And it has been around for a while, Transport for London and the Department of Transport have already worked on franchises together in awarding the South Central contract last summer. This is the kind of franchise agreement you could see operators tied into under the Mayor:

• Longer trains and platforms to meet projected demand to 2014


• A minimum of 4 trains per hour (tph) on each route where the infrastructure allows


• First and last trains to align with Tube operating hours


• Oyster acceptance and retailing at stations within Zones 1-6 (subject to industry-wide agreements)


• Staffing for at least 16 hours at each of 14 stations being gated by TfL


• The transfer of stations, which will become part of the East London Line Extension (Phase 1), to TfL from the start of the franchise

However a note of caution. The devil is in the detail.

The report says the Mayor will have a say on "suburban rail lines which are largely contained within the boundaries of greater London."

Which are these then?

Many franchises stretch way beyond the M25 but are used by Londoners.

Will the Mayor be able to influence these or will those decisions stay with the Secretary of State? And what happens when they disagree?

Here's what Jo deBank, spokesperson for London TravelWatch has to say:

"We think that the Mayor having a role in awarding and monitoring rail franchises would be good for London's passengers. We agree completely that a better integrated transport for London's passengers is needed, and believe that the Mayor having a bigger say over railways in London would help to achieve this.

"As the Mayor has said, railways are vital to London, and closer co-ordination between regional and national government can only be a good thing for London's travellers.

"If the Mayor does take on this role, he should ensure he consults passengers when franchises are awarded so he knows exactly what those who use the service want and expect from it."

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