Councillors on the transport authority in Merseyside are responsible for the first major setback to befall rail reform in the wake of the McNulty report, voting to reject vertical integration of track and train operations on Merseyrail.

It is thought that rail unions brought a lot of pressure to bear on the Labour members of the passenger authority, Merseytravel, which voted to reject the change this week, in a U-turn on its previous policy.

The Labour chairman of the authority, Mark Dowd, had previously been one of the strongest advocates of vertical integration, but has backtracked.

The Liverpool Daily Post newspaper, which joined Merseytravel to campaign for the change, has been scathing about the U-turn, calling it “lamentable” and saying those responsible should “hang their heads in shame” – especially after previously spending £1.5m lobbying for the change.

Perhaps there is more to this story than simple union pressure, in the week of massive public sector strikes, when Labour does not want to be seen to be on the wrong side of union opinion.

But whatever the reason, the vote is a real setback for vertical integration, which is a key recommendation of the McNulty review in areas suitable for it, of which Merseyside was one.

Opponents who always thought it was a recipe for further fragmentation will be happy at this vote. Those keen to see costs come down will be less so.