UK: Rail Business UK looks at what the government’s Railways Bill will do, how Great British Railways will be established and what the legislation means for the wider rail sector including freight operators, the supply chain and passengers.
UK: The Railways Bill required to establish Great British Railways and implement wider reform of the rail sector was laid before parliament on November 5.
Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said ’Britain deserves a railway that is fit for the future – one that rebuilds the trust of its passengers, regenerates its communities and restores reliability and value for money. The introduction of this legislation is a major step towards a rail network that supports Britain’s businesses and delivers for the travelling public – paving the way for economic growth and access to opportunity across the country.’
Railways Bill
The Railways Bill is the second piece of legislation needed to implement the government’s reform plans, following the simpler Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act required to end the tendering of passenger train operating contracts which received royal assent in November 2024.
The Railways Bill will establish Great British Railways as a publicly-owned company based in Derby which will unify track and train operations and be directly accountable for service quality. DfT said GBR would be fully accountable for the performance of every part of the railways. It will manage infrastructure, run passenger services and handle ticketing, creating a more integrated and efficient railway system.
The bill defines GBR’s statutory functions, which includes maintaining railways infrastructure, providing railway services, carrying out research and publishing advice, as well as the duties it will consider when carrying out these statutory functions, such as promoting passenger interests including the needs of those who are disabled, promoting rail freight, maintaining high standards of performance, and making efficient use of public funds.
GBR will be held accountable through a five-year Integrated Business Plan and oversight from its board, the Transport Secretary and the Office for Rail & Road. The bill requires the Secretary of State to issue the Long-Term Rail Strategy, which DfT said is ’the first strategy of its kind’ and will set out strategic objectives for the railway over a 30-year period.
GBR will be funded through a mix of government support and commercial income, such as ticket sales, access charges, and station rentals. The bill will introduce a new Funding Period Review process to provide five-year financial certainty for GBR’s infrastructure operations, maintenance, and renewal, replacing the current Periodic Review used for Network Rail.
The Railways Bill will give GBR the authority to decide how to make the best use of network capacity and the charges operators pay to use it, applying clear duties and public law principles, including fairness and transparency. GBR will publish and consult on policies for access, capacity allocation, and timetabling, with the Office of Rail & Road acting as an independent appeals body to ensure fairness.
DfT said the bill will ’empower GBR to bring fares and ticketing into the 21st century’. GBR will take on statutory responsibility for setting fares for all of its services, aiming to simplify the current ’complex and outdated system’. The Railways Bill will give GBR ’greater freedom to manage fares effectively’, with oversight from the Secretary of State and continued statutory protection for discount schemes for young, senior and disabled passengers.
A GBR website and app will replacing 14 existing operator ticketing platforms, and tickets would be also be available to purchase at station ticket offices, via vending machines and onboard trains. GBR will also build on Pay-As-You-Go and fares trials.
The bill will place a duty on GBR to grow rail freight, with a longer-term strategic approach to planning, including a new capacity allocation and timetabling process.
DfT said there will be longer-term certainty to give ‘critical stability’ to the rail supply chain, increasing investor confidence and supporting the growth of the sector.
The Railways Bill will maintain current powers and responsibilities for devolved governments and England’s mayors and allow for further devolution if it is agreed. There will be requirements for GBR to consult with devolved governments and Mayoral Strategic Authorities and having regard to devolved strategies.
The Railways Bill will establish a strengthened passenger watchdog which DfT said would be ‘a powerful new voice to investigate poor service and advocate for improvements’ across the rail, bus, tram, coach and strategic road networks. The watchdog will have statutory powers to advise on policy, conduct research, investigate passenger issues, set consumer standards for the railway and provide independent dispute resolution through the Rail Ombudsman.
Opening the door
Speaking to the Railway Industry Association’s annual conference in London on November 5, Alexander told attendees that ’public ownership alone cannot give us reform, but equally, reform would be hamstrung without public ownership. We will never improve the railway while it’s fractured into 17 different industry bodies, each with their own teams, none of them incentivised to work together and all ready to blame each other when things go wrong. Instead of simplicity and clarity, you’re forced into a Kafkaesque nightmare of different contractual relationships and red tape. That’s why public ownership matters: a first step towards a simpler, more joined up railway.’
Nevertheless, she felt that while it was ’tempting to see this legislation as the magic solution …in my view, this bill merely opens the door to reform. It’s then up to us together to shape the future railway that this country needs. This bill will enable us to set up Great British Railways as soon as possible. For the first time in decades, a single agile company will coordinate the railways as one whole system.’ GBR would focus ‘unashamedly’ on the long term, she added, and it would be ’armed with a mandate to drive up revenues and grow the railway’.
She concluded by telling delegates that ’GBR will offer you a centralised point of contact, rather than the myriad of operators, leasing companies and contractual entities you currently deal with’. However, she cautioned that ’while I will set the strategic direction through the long term rail strategy, the work to design and run GBR will be shaped by you, by those who have skin in the game.’
