Sadiq Khan has won backing from Tories in his battle against the Labour government over running suburban rail lines into London.
The Mayor of London has been seeking control over a string of rail services including Southeastern, South Western and Southern services, partly given the success of London Overground run by Transport for London.
The previous Tory government refused to grant him these powers, given that they serve areas outside the capital, even though some of these franchises have been heavily criticised for the services they run.
The new Labour government is also blocking the move as it presses ahead with rail renationalisation.
But senior Conservatives with expertise in London transport backed rail devolution.
During a debate on the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, Lord Moylan, aviation adviser to Boris Johnson when he was Mayor, accused the Government of axing devolution of rail services.
Transport minister Lord Hendy, who was TfL Commissioner, defended the legislation to renationalise rail lines, which the Government believes is key to improving services alongside unions ditching outdated work practices.
But Lord Moylan stressed: “The effect of what the minister says is that the steady progress of transferring responsibility for local lines from Network Rail to the Mayor of London that has taken place over the last 10 or 15 years, irrespective of the party colour of the mayoralty, is now to be stopped.
“It is to be set in aspic...whether there is a rational basis for it or not.”
He highlighted London Overground’s success where “lines that were largely abandoned, if not by the railways then certainly by passengers, have been brought back into busy and active service”.
He added: “I do not say that every commuter line in London should be transferred to the Mayor of London.
“I do not have the evidence to make that case, it should be looked at line by line.”
Tory peer Lord Ranger, also a transport adviser to Mr Johnson, argued for the door to be left open to devolution of rail lines.
He said: “Whenever the Government, not the previous Government but the one before them, tried to centralise through organisations such as Railtrack, the Strategic Rail Authority and Network Rail, as it seems they will do now with Great British Railways, there seemed to be a disconnect between what was required and what the large, centralised bureaucracy was trying to deliver.”
Liberal Democrat Baroness Pidgeon, former chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, stressed devolution has enabled “joined-up thinking” on transport strategies, housing and economic regeneration.
She added: “In the first four years of the Overground alone, there was an 80% jump in ridership to 190 million passengers, fare evasion fell from 13% to 2%, the number of delayed trains fell by 11%, and the frequency of service increased on some lines.”
“As we know only too well, the London Overground and the Elizabeth line are always at the top end of performance, according to the Office of Rail and Road.”
Lord Hendy stressed the bill did not intend to “close off” devolution options but it had to “be subject to effective operation of the railway network as a whole”.
He added: “The Government are absolutely committed to strengthening the role for local communities in shaping the design and delivery of passenger rail services in their areas.”
