Haigh gives the go-ahead for Shadow Great British Railways

UK: Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh has given the go-ahead for the creation of a Shadow Great British Railways, ahead of the future primary legislation which will be needed to create Great British Railways as an arm’s length body overseeing both train services and infrastructure.

On September 3 Haigh said she would be instructing the CEO of Network Rail Andrew Haines; the Director General for Rail Services at the Department for Transport Alex Hynes; and the CEO of the government’s operator of last resort DfT OLR Holdings Ltd, Robin Gisby, to establish Shadow GBR, bringing together leaders from DfT, the infrastructure manager and publicly-owned operators.

‘I am firing the starting gun on the biggest reforms to our railways in a generation’, said Haigh. ’Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train.’

Haigh said Shadow GBR would review performance and finances, and start to make ‘urgent improvements now for passengers and freight’. It will be asked to unblock barriers to ticket reform which would ‘make it simpler for passengers, drive innovation across the network, replace the current myriad of ticket types and maximise passenger growth.’

Great British Railways

Looking ahead, Haigh said the future GBR would plan services on a whole system basis, increase innovation and cut waste. It would end ‘outdated working and management practices’ as well as ’the operational meddling of Whitehall that has characterised the industry, particularly post-Covid’.

There would be ‘a powerful new passenger watchdog’, the Passenger Standards Authority.

There will be a statutory duty to promote rail freight, alongside an overall growth target set by the Secretary of State. The government will include safeguards to ensure that freight operators continue to receive fair access to the network.

Haigh told parliament ’from economic growth to clean energy, the railways underpin our efforts to rebuild Britain, and deliver hope and opportunity to everyone, wherever they live’.

Industry response

The Rail Partners association of train operator owning groups said ‘train companies have been calling for the establishment of Great British Railways for many years’.

Transport Focus Chief Executive Alex Robertson added that ‘it is good to see passenger interests featuring so prominently in the reform. We will continue to work closely with government and Shadow Great British Railways to ensure the voice of transport users is at the heart of how the changes are implemented.’

Rail Freight Group Director General Maggie Simpson welcomed the commitments for freight users. ‘Businesses across the UK that use rail freight as an essential part of their supply chains will welcome this assurance’, she said. ‘In particular, freight users need certainty that there will be long-term capacity guaranteed on the network for freight, at an affordable price, and that private sector investment will be encouraged in support of growth.’

Mark Plowright, Director at Virgin Trains ticketing, said ‘the current retail model is broken and causing unnecessary confusion and frustration for passengers and retailers alike — making it hard to find the best deal. A competitive market of retailers is what’s needed to drive down costs and ensure the UK continues to lead the way in digital ticketing and innovation, but this will only happen if we remove the unnecessary restrictions currently faced by independent rail retailers’.