A wake up call for rail operators? The travelling public now has an ombudsman

The new body could lead to better services because racking up negative rulings could get very expensive rail companies. But there is a whiff of sticking plaster being applied to an open wound

Going nowhere? Northern Rail trains at Manchester Piccadilly. But now passengers are getting an ombudsman to complain to (Simon Calder)

Today sees the launch of the Rail Ombudsman in what is being billed as a ‘wake up call’ for the UK’s sclerotic rail industry.

It comes in the wake of widespread public frustration over the disruption witnessed across the railways this year, capped by the spectacularly botched roll out of a new timetable in May.

Even though memories of that might have faded a bit, the day to day lot of the commuting public is still fairly miserable.

Delays, poor punctuality, industrial strife. It isn’t a pretty picture and against that backdrop, the launch represents a welcome development, all the more so when you consider figures showing that just 28 per cent of those who complain to rail companies describe themselves as satisfied with the outcome. Business should be brisk.

An estimate of 6,000 complaints a year has been suggested for it, but I wonder whether that will prove low. We’ll see.

What we do know is that ombudsman services have worked well in other sectors. If you get the brush off after making a complaint, they’re reasonably easy to approach, and cost free to the complainant. And their rulings are usually binding on the organisations being complained about (as this one's will be).

There is a chance that that the Rail Ombudsman could lead to improved levels of service if the new body can prove that it can be firm as well as fair. Racking up adverse rulings could get expensive for train companies. The economics of that might force them to think hard about the way they do business.

Call me a cynic, however, but even though the launch has been broadly welcomed by consumer groups and other interested parties, I get the slight feeling of sticking plaster being applied to an open wound.

The railways have been a godawful mess for as long as anyone can remember. Privatisation was botched. Cost has been the priority over service when it comes to the award of rail franchises. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why rail nationalisation is one of Jeremy Corbyn’s more popular policy positions.

People with long memories like to point out that British Rail wasn’t exactly held in high regard when it was running the show. Modern commuters would probably respond by asking whether it could really have been any worse than what they experience today.

Regardless, they deserve, and pay for, better

Hopefully the ombudsman can play a role in delivering that. It deserves its chance, and I'd be delighted if it can prove my doubts wrong. I'm doubtless far from alone in that.