One of the main arguments in favour of privatisation is that it increases consumer choice.

Just look, supporters of privatisation say, at how many more options you’ll have if state-run monopolies are broken up.

Yet that doesn’t seem to have happened in the case of the rail industry.

“Passengers describe how they like to shop around to find the best price or option for them, with price comparison websites becoming an increasingly common feature during purchasing decisions. For most this is perceived to be absent from train travel.”

DfT research

Research on passenger views on rail fares and pricing published by the Department for Transport supports that idea.

The report says that “passengers describe how they like to shop around to find the best price or option for them, with price comparison websites becoming an increasingly common feature during purchasing decisions. For most this is perceived to be absent from train travel.”

This consumer research supports the idea that there is less choice even with the different train operating companies.

In addition, the rail industry doesn’t come out too well in terms of the price of tickets.

“Fairness, transparency and simplicity are seen as vital to a good pricing system, and rail is largely seen to be performing poorly against these principles,” according to the research.

This is no surprise to those who, like me, have struggled for hours on various journey planners and online sites looking at the different options, routes and tickets before giving up and going to speak to someone at my local railway station ticket office.

The research was conducted in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the resulting changing demand for rail travel will make it all the more challenging for the rail industry to keep up with consumer demand and meet its responsibilities to passengers.