Great British Railways - Great British Railways Scope and Powers - C

Great British Railways - C

Great British Railways Scope and Powers

Great British Railways is planned to operate in the existing areas of Network Rail, i.e. England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland – where the railway is already operated by the vertically integrated and wholly state-owned Northern Ireland Railways – was explicitly excluded from the scope of the Plan for Rail and rail is not a reserved matter in Northern Ireland.

GBR's powers are unconfirmed as of April 2023. However, the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail suggested that GBR will develop rail strategies, manage budgets and operations, own stations and infrastructures and manage the procurement of contracts. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said that the government will respond to consultation on those powers in summer 2023.

Under devolution, a number of powers relating to rail services are devolved to devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, London and Merseyside. According to the Plan for Rail, these current powers will be unaffected. The Plan states that GBR will co-operate with devolved administrations, but that those administrations will need to work with GBR to improve consistency across the national network.

Under Network Rail, all stations are formally in public hands since 2014, but only 20 (mainly large termini and central stations) are managed directly by it. GBR will own all stations and most infrastructure in Great Britain. Existing leases of stations to devolved transport authorities will continue. Dedicated station management teams will be created within regional divisions of GBR to manage stations and land. GBR will develop masterplans for station renewal.

Great British Railways Branding

GBR will use modified forms of British Rail's Double Arrow symbol and Rail Alphabet typeface — Rail Symbol 2 and Rail Alphabet 2 respectively — for its branding. The Williams-Shapps plan recommended that there will be a single, unifying brand for railways, and it is expected that this will be a gradual rebranding over time. English regions, Scotland, and Wales will have their own variants, but these will still emphasise the national nature of GBR. The white paper does not specify whether the branding of devolved railways such as London Overground and Merseyrail will be affected.

Great British Railways Notes

a ^: It will not assume ownership of the Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes which were transferred to Transport for Wales in 2020.

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)