The future of rail

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.

Consultation on the Railways bill

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].

Rail reform: Progress to date

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

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:

• establishing a new public body, ‘Great British Railways’, to act as a single “guiding mind” to own the infrastructure, receive fare revenue, run and plan the network and set most fares and timetables
• creating a new 30-year strategy for the railway alongside five-year business plans to “provide clear, long-term plans for transforming the railways to strengthen collaboration, unlock efficiencies and incentivise innovation”
• creating anational brand and identity (an updated version of British Rail’s double arrow logo) to emphasise that the railways are one connected network, with national and regional sub-identities
• reforming and upgrading to the fares system, with an emphasis on standardisation and simplicity, as well as introducing new and innovative products such as flexible season tickets
• replacing franchising with a new commercial model similar to that used on Transport for London’s Overground and bus network, where the revenue from fares goes to the public sector and private operators are paid a fee to run services

Railways in Great Britain: The current system

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:

• most rail infrastructure is owned, maintained and operated by Network Rail, a publicly owned company (with some limited exceptions).
• most passenger services have been run by privately-owned train operating companies (TOCs) under multi-year franchises let by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.
• trains (or rolling stock) are owned by private rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) and leased to the TOCs.
• most railway stations, while owned by Network Rail, are leased to train operators, except for the main passenger terminals which Network Rail runs itself.

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.