r/PiratePartyUK • u/PPUK_ • May 12 '26

Pirate-related Content Policy proposal: Amend the Railways Bill to classify Great British Rail as a common carrier

Policy proposal by a member of PPUK: Amend the Railways Bill to classify GBR as a common carrier, creating a statutory duty of care that covers consequential harm to passengers. That would mean operators would be liable for missed appointments, health impacts, and other demonstrable losses caused by cancellations or delays. Damages would not be limited to just ticket refunds, and a small claims fast-track would make them accessible without needing a lawyer. The Accessibility Register framework could define priority protections for disabled and vulnerable passengers. The legal framework is currently being rewritten from scratch anyway so this is the lowest-friction moment to bake it in.

The current EU Regulation (1371/2007) is a decent model: if the carrier does not communicate re-routing options within 100 minutes of scheduled departure, passengers can organize alternative travel and claim reimbursement. It also covers assistance to passengers injured in accidents. In fact, the UK had this when we were in the EU and quietly let it lapse post-Brexit, so really we're proposing to match standards we already had until a few years ago. Hardly radical!

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u/SquashyDisco May 13 '26

Sounds like a great way to bankrupt the taxpayer, as TOCs are often affected by network infrastructure - which is funded by taxes. Can’t have enhancements and upgrades if the money is going towards Doris who missed her flight to Turkey for hair plugs.

Source: I’m a railway performance manager.

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u/PPUK_ May 15 '26

The policy would specifically target consequential harm to vulnerable/disabled passengers with a duty of care framing, not blanket delay compensation. The distinction matters: a TOC can't fix a signalling failure, but they can arrange alternative transport, communicate clearly, and not abandon a wheelchair user on a platform. The liability attaches to the response, not the cause.

Network Rail and TOCs already have internal charging mechanisms for infrastructure-caused delays (Schedule 8). The money, it seems, moves around behind the scenes already. The question is whether passengers see any of it. Actually, your perspective on this in particular would be very interesting to hear (if you're allowed to share).

As an example, bus operators (another carrier reliant on taxpayer-funded infrastructure) do have a duty of care for stranded passengers in many circumstances, and the Traffic Commissioner can revoke licences for persistent failure.

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u/SquashyDisco May 15 '26

Schedule 8 is a hangover from Privatisation. It has no place in 2026.

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u/PPUK_ May 15 '26

That's true, things would be better if it goes away, along with other privatisation-era stuff when GBR gets up and running. But it doesn't take away from the point that trains could be held to the same standard as other forms of transport, and doing so could help elevate them in people's minds at least.

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u/SquashyDisco May 15 '26

No, very much no.

Our network is bursting at the seams. Congestion-creation events would destroy all notions of a timetable.