Great British Railways - A

Great British Railways - A

Great British Railways (GBR) is a proposed state-owned public body that will oversee rail transport in Great Britain except for Transport for London, Merseytravel, light rail and tram services. It will assume most rail functions of the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Rail Delivery Group, including procuring services and setting fares. In addition, it will absorb Network Rail to become the operator of most rail infrastructure across Great Britain.[a] It will not affect the existing powers of the UK's devolved administrations in their areas.

The concession contract system will be the long-term replacement for the previous system of passenger rail franchising run by the DfT, which became unsustainable early in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. GBR will be modelled on the operations of Transport for London, which contracts services on systems such as London Overground. GBR is to be based in Derby.

As of May 2023, legislation to enable its establishment has not been timetabled in the Parliamentary programme.

Great British Railways History

Great Britain's railway system was built by private companies, but it was nationalised by the Transport Act 1947 and was run from then onwards by British Railways (which traded as British Rail from 1965) until privatisation, which was begun in 1994 and completed in 1997. Infrastructure, passenger, and freight services were separated at that time. The infrastructure was privately owned and operated by Railtrack from 1994 to 2002, when it was renationalised and transferred to Network Rail. Goods (freight) services are operated by a number of companies, the descendants of those created during the 1990s privatisation.

During 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, all passenger train operating companies (TOCs) entered into Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements with the UK and Scottish Governments. Normal passenger service franchise mechanisms were amended, transferring almost all revenue and cost risk to the government, effectively re-nationalising those services temporarily.

The new GBR organisation was proposed under the Williams–Shapps Rail Review, which was published as a white paper on 20 May 2021. The review had been launched in September 2018 and was led by Keith Williams.

A fortnight before the Williams–Shapps Plan for Rail was unveiled, the Department for Transport gave notice of a £6.5 million contract for Deloitte up to February 2023 as its "strategic change delivery partner: rail reform programme".

Andrew Haines and Peter Hendy, the current CEO and chairman of Network Rail respectively, are overseeing the establishment of GBR.

On 19 October 2022, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced that the Transport Bill which would have set up GBR would not go ahead in the current parliamentary session. In February 2023, Transport Secretary Mark Harper re-affirmed the government's commitment to GBR and rail reform.

On 18 May 2023, it was reported that the Transport Bill would not be introduced in the 2023-24 Parliamentary session. Without the passage of the Bill, GBR lacks its planned legal powers to set fares and timetables in the place of train operating companies, delaying its anticipated start date of Autumn 2024 at the earliest.

Great British Railways Overview

Great British Railways Industry: Rail infrastructure and asset management
Great British Railways Predecessor:
Network Rail
Department for Transport (some functions)
Rail Delivery Group (some functions)
Great British Railways Headquarters: Derby, England, UK
Great British Railways Area served:
Great Britain
Some functions devolved in Scotland, Wales, and some combined authority areas in England
Great British Railways Products: Public transport
Great British Railways Owner:
HM Government
(Department for Transport)