Competition in passenger rail services in Great Britain

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inviting responses on 4 possible options for reform, as set out in our discussion document:

• Option 1 – retaining the existing market structure, but with significantly increased open access operations
• Option 2 – 2 franchisees for each franchise
• Option 3 – more overlapping franchises
• Option 4 – licensing multiple operators, subject to conditions

These are the options which we consider are most likely to bring benefits to passengers on the 3 main intercity routes: the East and West Coast main lines and the Great Western route.

This is a long-term project. We don’t expect these proposals to be implemented until 2023 at the earliest, so as to protect the rights of current franchisees and current and imminent franchise tender processes.