Williams-Shapps: ten questions that need answering

摘要

THERE is no doubt that The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail could have been a lot worse. There is undoubtedly a strong commitment to the rail industry and a willingness to improve the service for passengers.But a White Paper is supposed to be a blueprint for legislation - and this one is nothing of the sort. It is much more akin to a Green (consultation) Paper, but so far we have not seen whether this Paper will be subject to a consultation process.Talking to people across the industry, there is (unsurprisingly) much uncertainty. There are more questions to be answered than in an average edition of Mastermind and then some. Here are just ten for starters:British Rail performed best and was most commercially minded in the 1980s, when it was left (more or less) to its own devices and could decide how money was spent.