Former Transport Minister Lord Adonis said the new regime was “the worst of both worlds: private monopolies with weak government regulation” and a “licence for railway companies to print money at taxpayers` expense.” At the beginning of the closure, the DfT announced emergency measures for the entire British railway, with passengers having already left the trains, even before the government asked all workers, except the main ones, to avoid public transport. At a Transport Times rail summit, he added: “The government has got on the plate and supported this industry, and we all need to realize that and learn to work differently – it`s really important that we solve this in the next 48 hours.” As a result, emergency measures to cover losses suffered by railway companies have been extended by 18 months. They will reduce the fees that can be collected by businesses, but they will mean that trains will still be able to run with fewer passengers. “The agreement offers good value to the Scottish taxpayer because the amount of aid provided by the government is proportional to each increase in revenue generated by ScotRail,” she said. “While the number of flights operated by ScotRail is decreasing by 70%, the number of services operated by ScotRail is once again close to the pre-pandemic level.” The Scottish Government has repeatedly expressed its willingness to directly control ScotRail and its recent statement stressed that “talks for a longer-term agreement will begin immediately beyond 10 January 2021.” The department of transportation manager is ready to take over the rail franchise if no new agreement is reached. The new contracts being negotiated – so-called ERMAs or emergency aid agreements – should be a new transition period in a radically modified railway, with the abandonment of the franchising system. One franchise – Cross Country – had an EMA that had a longer-than-standard rail period to coincide with the end date of their previous franchise agreement, in October 2020. When the franchise agreement expired on October 18, 2020, a new directly awarded franchise agreement came into effect, with an option to extend for up to one year. And there is still no consensus within the government on what the railway will be like after the pandemic, so the details are pretty fine. These agreements, which last up to 18 months, are intended to put an end to the railway franchising system. They come into force yesterday and contain provisions to end existing deductibles with the expiry of these agreements. Summary of deductible payments made by the Ministry of Transport (DfT) to departure and return companies (TOCs) from March to September under Emergency Action Agreements (EMA). These new contracts continue to respond to the effects of COVID-19 and ensure that the railways halt the pandemic-backed country`s recovery and provide passengers, freight and taxpayers.

They maintain the best elements of the private sector, including competition and innovation, that drive growth, but they continue by strengthening leadership, leadership and accountability. The taxpayer is responsible for losses on the rail for a much longer period of time. And with the spread of the virus, the number of passengers could be suppressed, so that the losses could continue for some time.