Local MP Maria Miller has welcomed the Government’s white paper on the future of the trains and the announcement that new flexible seasons tickets will be available for Basingstoke train commuters from next month.
Maria said, “Many regular Basingstoke commuters are now starting to return to office based jobs following the last year of Pandemic disruption. It’s welcome that organisations are introducing more flexible working with some staff working at home for 2-3 days a week. The new flexible season tickets better reflect how people now work and will help cut the cost of commuting for people working from home for part of the week but the overall affordability of long distance commuting also needs to be kept under review and I raised that again with the Secretary of State today in the House of Commons. Places like London need skilled workers living in Basingstoke and the affordability of train communities needs to be kept under close review.”
The government's plan to transform the railways in Great Britain has been published in the white paper "Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for rail". It is based on the shared vision of Keith Williams, the independent Chair of the Rail Review, and the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, to put rail on the right track to support the levelling up of our towns, cities and regions.
It shows how the government will make railways the backbone of a cleaner, more environmentally friendly and modern public transport system across the country.
By replacing franchising, accelerating innovation and integrating the railways, will deliver an efficient, financially sustainable railway that meets the needs of passengers and those who rely on rail on a daily basis.