Future of the West Coast Mainline
There will be a Westminster Hall debate on the future of the West Coast Main Line on Tuesday 15 July at 2:30pm. The debate will be led by Connor Naismith MP (Lab, Crewe and Nantwich)

An overview of the government's plans for reforming the railway in Great Britain
The future of rail (666 KB , PDF)
In the 2024 King’s Speech, the government set out its plan to introduce a Railways bill. This would create Great British Railways, a single public body which would bring together management of most passenger trains services and railway infrastructure. This followed on from the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 receiving Royal Assent in November 2024. This will bring passenger train operators with contracts with the Department for Transport into the public sector as these contracts expire.
Between 18 February and 15 April 2025, the government held a consultation on new policies to be included in the forthcoming Railways Bill. The main focus of the consultation is the proposed creation of Great British Railways (GBR). This is a proposed ‘Guiding Mind’ which would bring together management of most passenger train services and railway infrastructure under a single public body.
GBR would be responsible for making decisions on access to the network, including by non-GBR operators such as open access and freight services, as well as those operated by devolved administrations and mayoral combined authorities. The consultation also proposes giving GBR the power to set fares, as well as for the creation of a new independent passenger watchdog.
While some reaction to the consultation has been positive, some stakeholders have expressed concerns that GBR may prioritise its own services over freight, open access or those operated by mayors and city regions. There have also been concerns that the consultation does not set out that GBR’s licence will include requirements relating to improving accessibility for passengers, or relating to freight, the environment and the wider social and economic benefits of the railway [PDF].
In September 2024, the government announced it was creating GBR in shadow form ahead of the introduction of the Railways Bill. Laura Shoaf, Chief Executive of West Midlands Combined Authority, was appointed Chair of Shadow GBR in October 2024. The aim of Shadow GBR is to deliver improvements before the legislation is introduced to create GBR.
The government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill 2024-25 in the House of Commons on 18 July 2024. It received Royal Assent on 28 November 2024, becoming the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024. Using the powers in this act, the government will bring passenger train operating companies with contracts with the Department for Transport into public ownership when existing contracts end, or a contractual break point is reached.
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail was published in May 2021 and set out the then government’s plans for altering the management of railways in Great Britain. In a statement to Parliament, then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described the plan as “the biggest shake up in three decades, bringing the railway together under a single national leadership, with one overwhelming aim: to deliver for passengers”.
The plan proposed:
Since privatisation of the railways in 1993, responsibility and accountability for the running of the railway is split between a range of different bodies, often operating with different incentives. For example:
Since privatisation, successive governments have attempted to address the fragmentation that exists within the rail industry by bringing responsibility for track and train (namely responsibility for managing the infrastructure and running services) closer together.
The future of rail (666 KB , PDF)
There will be a Westminster Hall debate on the future of the West Coast Main Line on Tuesday 15 July at 2:30pm. The debate will be led by Connor Naismith MP (Lab, Crewe and Nantwich)
On 25 June 2025 there will be an Estimates day debate on the spending of the Department for Transport
A debate on support for rural businesses will take place in Westminster Hall on 18 June 2025 at 2:30pm. The Library will publish briefing materials ahead of the debate.