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Great British Railways

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withBritish Rail(1948–1997),GB Railways(1996–2003) or theGreat British Railway JourneysBBC docuseries.

Great British Railways
Company typeState-owned enterprise
IndustryRailway transport,infrastructure and asset management
Predecessor
Headquarters
Derby
,
England, UK
Area served
ProductsPublic transport
Owner
Websitegbrtt.co.ukEdit this at Wikidata

Great British Railways(GBR) is a plannedstate-ownedcompany that is to overseerail transport in Great Britainexcept forTransport for London,Merseytravel,light rail and tram services.

It will assume the existing responsibilities ofNetwork Rail,to become the owner and manager of most railway infrastructure across Great Britain.

The publicly-owned body will be the long-term replacement for the previousprivatised rail franchising systemwhich lasted from 1996 until its effective abolition in 2021. Alltrain operating companieswill be taken intopublic ownershipas their contracts expire and then folded into GBR, reunifying passenger services under one publicly-owned entity for the first time since theprivatisation of British Rail.This will not includeopen-access operators,who will be able to continue running services on selected routes.

GBR will be headquartered inDerby.

History

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Great Britain's railway systemwas built by private companies, but it was nationalised by theTransport Act 1947and was run from then onwards byBritish Railways(which traded as British Rail from 1965) untilprivatisation,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 byRailtrackfrom 1994 to 2002, when it was renationalised and transferred toNetwork Rail.[1]Goods (freight) services are operated bya number of companies,the descendants of those created during the 1990s privatisation.

During 2020, in the midst of theCOVID-19 pandemic,all passengertrain operating companies(TOCs) entered intoEmergency Recovery Measures Agreementswith the UK and Scottish Governments.[2]Normalpassenger service franchisemechanisms were amended, transferring almost all revenue and cost risk to the government, effectively re-nationalising those services temporarily.[3][4]

The new GBR organisation was proposed under the Williams–Shapps Rail Review,[5]which was published as awhite paperon 20 May 2021.[6]The review had been launched in September 2018 and was led byKeith Williams.[6][7]

A fortnight before the Williams–Shapps Plan for Rail was unveiled, theDepartment for Transport(DfT) gave notice of a £6.5million contract forDeloitteup to February 2023 as its "strategic change delivery partner: rail reform programme".[8]

Andrew Haines andPeter Hendy,who were theCEOandchairmanof Network Rail respectively, were appointed to oversee the establishment of GBR.[9][10]

In October 2022,Transport SecretaryAnne-Marie Trevelyanannounced that the Transport Bill, which would have set up GBR, would not go ahead in the current parliamentary session.[11][12]In February 2023, Transport SecretaryMark Harperre-affirmed the government's commitment to GBR and rail reform.[13] The2023 King's speechannounced the progression of a draft Rail Reform Bill which would enable the establishment of GBR, although it has not been timetabled in the Parliamentary programme.[14]TheTransport SecretaryMark Harperlater told theTransport Select Committeethat the legislation was unlikely to reachRoyal Assentwithin the 2023–2024 parliamentary session.[15]

Labour government (July 2024–present)

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Prior to the 2024 general election, the Labour Party confirmed that it would be seeking to bring railways into public ownership,[16]while preserving the role of open-access operators.[17]

In the2024 King's Speech,thenew Labour governmentannounced that GBR would be established by two bills in the current parliamentary session: The "Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill", which will bring rail franchises into public ownership as their contracts expire, and the "Railways Bill", which will establish GBR to oversee the passenger and freight rail network.[18][19][20][21]

On 3 September 2024, the government announced that the organisation would be created at first in "shadow" form, pending legislation to formally create it. The chief executives ofDfT OLR HoldingsandNetwork Railand the Director General for Rail Services in the Department for Transport have been tasked with running Shadow Great British Railways in order to "[work] in closer collaboration, bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers and freight users."[22]

Headquarters

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FormerTransport SecretaryGrant Shappsand broadcasterMichael Portillopromote the national competition to host the headquarters of Great British Railways

The government promised to base the organisation outside London to promote economic growth and skills in a region beyond the capital.[23]In February 2022, the DfT launched a public consultation for the location of GBR's headquarters.[24]In total, 42 towns and cities submitted expressions of interest.[25]

A shortlist comprisingBirmingham,Crewe,Derby,Doncaster,Newcastle upon Tyne,andYorkwas announced in July 2022,[26]using the following criteria: alignment with "levelling up"objectives; connected and easy to get to; opportunities for GBR; railway heritage and links to the network; value for money; and public support.[26]A public vote was held following the announcement.[26]

In March 2023, then Transport SecretaryMark Harperannounced Derby as the headquarters location.[27][28]

Scope and powers

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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-ownedNorthern Ireland Railways– was explicitly excluded from the scope of thePlan for Railand rail is not areserved matterin Northern Ireland.[5]: 25 

GBR's powers are unconfirmed as of April 2023.[13]However, theWilliams-Shapps Plan for Railsuggested that GBR will develop rail strategies, manage budgets and operations, own stations and infrastructures and manage the procurement of contracts.[5]: 30 Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said that the government will respond to consultation on those powers in summer 2023.[13]

Underdevolution,a number of powers relating to rail services are devolved to devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, London and Merseyside. According to thePlan 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) aremanaged directlyby 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.[5]

Regions

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GBR will be made up of five regional divisions, organised in line with Network Rail's 'Putting Passengers First' programme. Budgets and delivery will be held at the local level as well as at the national level. Regional divisions will manage concession contracts, stations, infrastructure, and local and regional budgets, integrate track and train, and integrate rail with local transport services.[5]

Branding

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TheBritish Rail Double Arrow,designed byGerry Barneyin 1965

GBR will use modified forms of British Rail's Double Arrow symbol and Rail Alphabettypeface–Rail Symbol 2andRail Alphabet 2respectively – 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.[5]

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^"Network Rail closer to Railtrack takeover".BBC News.18 September 2002.
  2. ^"The ONS classifies train operating companies now running under emergency measures agreements".Office for National Statistics.31 July 2020.Retrieved12 April2021.
  3. ^Moran, Mark (3 August 2020)."UK rail effectively 'renationalised' during pandemic".TransportXtra.Retrieved12 April2021.
  4. ^British government announces plans for major railway sector reformInternational Railway Journal20 May 2021
  5. ^abcdef"Great British Railways: Williams–Shapps plan for rail".GOV.UK.Department for Transport.20 May 2021.Retrieved20 May2021.
  6. ^ab"Rail services to come under unified state control".BBC News.19 May 2021.Retrieved19 May2021.
  7. ^"Grayling launches" no stone unturned "review into Britain's railway".www.railmagazine.com.Retrieved6 January2023.
  8. ^Delivery Partner ContractsBidStats
  9. ^Pickard, Jim; Georgiardis, Philip (17 May 2021)."UK railways braced for biggest shake-up in decades".Financial Times.Retrieved19 May2021.
  10. ^Topham, Gwyn (16 May 2021)."UK railways brace for shake-up and cuts as long-overdue review arrives".The Guardian.Retrieved19 May2021.
  11. ^"Great British Railways transport bill shelved".BBC News.19 October 2022.Retrieved27 October2022.
  12. ^"Great British Railways plan 'delayed' as Liz Truss pulls transport bill".The Independent.19 October 2022.
  13. ^abcHarper, Mark (7 February 2023)."George Bradshaw address 2023: The Transport Secretary affirms his commitment to the rail sector and outlines plans to modernise the industry".Department for Transport.Retrieved8 April2023.
  14. ^"King's Speech: Derby-based 'Great British Railways' promised in draft bill".ITV News.7 November 2023.
  15. ^"Minister admits rail reform legislation 'unlikely' before general election".The Independent.16 November 2023.Retrieved21 November2023.
  16. ^"Labour to begin rail nationalisations within months".Financial Times.18 July 2024.Retrieved28 August2024.
  17. ^"Getting Britain Moving: Labour's Plan to Fix Britain's Railways"(PDF).Labour.25 April 2024.Retrieved2 September2024.
  18. ^"Rail reform and establishment of Great British Railways confirmed for this Parliament".New Civil Engineer.17 July 2024.Retrieved20 July2024.
  19. ^"Labour's plan for our railways: How we will deliver for passengers with Great British Railways".The Labour Party.25 April 2024.Retrieved18 July2024.
  20. ^Elgot, Jessica; Topham, Gwyn (24 April 2024)."Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power".The Guardian.Guardian News & Media Limited.Retrieved3 May2024.
  21. ^"Labour will 'reveal plan to nationalise railways in King's Speech'".The i.6 July 2024.
  22. ^"Establishing a Shadow Great British Railways".gov.uk.HM Government. 3 September 2024.Retrieved4 September2024.
  23. ^Hakimian, Rob (5 October 2021)."Search on for Great British Railways headquarters".New Civil Engineer.Retrieved2 September2024.
  24. ^"Public competition launched to find new home for Britain's Railways".gov.uk.Department for Transport. 5 February 2022.Retrieved2 September2024.
  25. ^"List of the 42 bidders to host Great British Railways headquarters".Railway Gazette.18 March 2022.Retrieved2 September2024.
  26. ^abc"Public vote and official shortlist announced to choose home of Great British Railways".gov.uk.Department for Transport.Retrieved2 September2024.
  27. ^Torr, George; Watson, Greig; Roberts, Georgia (21 March 2023)."Great British Railways: Derby chosen as location for new rail HQ".BBC News.Retrieved2 September2024.
  28. ^"Derby named as home of Great British Railways HQ"(Press release). Department for Transport. 21 March 2023.Retrieved31 July2024.
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