Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 May 2025 · HC 346
Letter from the Secretary of State for Transport relating to evidence session on 23 April, dated 13 May 2025
From: Transport Committee
Summary
Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander responds to two follow-up points raised by the Transport Committee in an evidence session on 23 April. She confirms that a government ticketing system for Great British Railways would achieve cost savings by reducing duplication across 14 operator websites, but states no final decisions on delivery approach have been made and setup costs cannot yet be disclosed. She also clarifies that grid connectivity was not discussed at a recent Isle of Wight ferry roundtable meeting, though DfT officials engage regularly with energy department counterparts on port grid issues.
Key findings
- Government aims to deliver a unified website and app for Great British Railways to reduce costs from 14 separate taxpayer-funded operator websites, but the business case remains in development.
- Approach to ticketing system delivery is undecided between building new or adopting established solutions, with different cost implications for each option.
- Setup costs for the ticketing system cannot be provided at this time pending completion of the business case.
- Grid connectivity was not on the agenda for the Aviation Minister's roundtable with Isle of Wight ferry operators and local representatives.
- DfT maintains regular engagement with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on port grid connectivity issues.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Heidi Alexander, Ruth Cadbury, Jo Shanmugalingam, Transport Committee, Department for Transport, Great British Railways, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Notable line
“Overall, there will be significant cost savings achieved by reducing the duplication created by 14 separate operator websites, that are currently all funded by the taxpayer.”
Key Quotes
“Overall, there will be significant cost savings achieved by reducing the duplication created by 14 separate operator websites, that are currently all funded by the taxpayer.”
“These solutions will have different costs. However, no final decisions have been made on the approach yet so I'm unable to give you an indication of these set up costs at this time.”
“Grid capacity was not discussed, but DfT officials regularly engage with their DESNZ counterparts on grid connectivity at ports.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗