Train operators have been told to find ways to cut hundreds of millions of pounds from the railway’s operating costs next year, in a move that is likely to spell fewer services and worse stations for passengers.
The Department for Transport seeks to cut spending by 10% following Rishi Sunak’s autumn budget.
With the Treasury anxious to limit spending on rail, which increased massively during the pandemic, letters from the DfT’s managing director of passenger services, Peter Wilkinson, have been sent to individual operators setting out the swingeing cuts needed across the industry.
While train operators expected cuts – the Williams-Shapps plan for rail reform, published in May, set out a target of saving £1.5bn over the next five years – the
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