Jobs axed as Whitehall silences the regional voice of rail users

The Government's Railways Bill abolished the regional committees of the Rail Passengers Council, but it was hoped that some continued presence would remain.

However, The Northern Echo has learnt that all the passenger watchdog's regional offices are to close, including York, where six staff from the North-East Rail Passengers Committee will lose their jobs.

Committee staff were yesterday called to meetings where they were being told the news ahead of an expected announcement in London today.

Already, passengers in the North-East can no longer directly contact the York office and are instead directed towards a regional call centre in Warrington, Cheshire.

The regional committees will be replaced with "passenger link managers", who will be aligned to individual train franchises.

However, it is thought there will only be a handful of these, between about six and ten, to cover the whole of the country.

The Rail Passengers Council is to instigate a new set-up, described as a passenger champion network, which will have a UK-wide remit, be "more joined up", and be able to engage with passengers in "new and exciting ways".

Anne McIntosh, Tory MP for the Vale of York and a member of the Transport Select Committee, said: "This is part of the Government's Railways Bill which the Conservatives opposed.

"It will be to the detriment of the travelling public and grossly dilute the current complaints procedure for passengers.

"Our view is that the more local these functions the better. I must pay tribute to the work of the regional committees as they play a very useful role."

The national Rail Passengers Council, based in London, co-ordinates the work of the eight regional Rail Passengers Committees, which were set up by the Government to protect and promote the interests of rail passengers.

They are able to answer passenger inquiries, press for service improvements, and mediate in complaints that passengers and train companies cannot settle.