Nationalisation, Great British Railways and devolution plans included in King’s Speech

UK: Ministers will ‘bring forward legislation to improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership’, Charles III said when he read the King’s Speech setting out the newly-elected Labour government’s legislative programme at the state opening of parliament on July 17.

As well as a Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill and Rail Reform Bill, there will also be an English Devolution Bill and legislation to give new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities. A Planning & Infrastructure Bill aims to accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects and housing.

Expanding on the limited details included in the King’s Speech, the government said the new legislation would create a simplified rail system by bringing contracted passenger services into public ownership once current agreements expire or if operators fail to meet their commitments. This approach would avoid the need to buy-out the current private sector operators.

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill will amend existing legislation ’so that appointing a public sector operator is the default position rather than merely a last resort’. The government said ’we are introducing this piece of legislation swiftly to ensure we are able to act decisively and bring the first contracts back into public ownership as soon as possible once it is in place.’

The government said transferring operations to the public sector would ‘save the taxpayer millions of pounds currently paid out in fees’ and end fragmentation to establish ’a more efficient and reliable’ service.

Great British Railways would be focused on improving services and creating better value for money for passengers, with simplified fares, discounts and ticket types, as well as automatic compensation, digital pay-as-you-go and digital season tickets rolled out across the whole network. It would have a statutory duty to promote freight, with safeguards to ensure that freight operators receive fair access to the network. The government said open access passenger operators have ’a proven track record in driving competition and better passenger outcomes’, and would be able to operate wherever they can add value and capacity to the network, as assessed by the Office for Rail & Road.

The government said ‘we are not reversing the decision to cancel the second Phase of HS2’. The High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill will be carried over freom the previous parliament and repurposed to provide powers for projects which improve east to west connectivity across the north of England, including in Manchester and the surrounding area with new stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. 

Responses

Responding to the announcements, CEO of the Rail Partners association of train operating company owning groups Andy Bagnall said ’we must correctly understand the causes of the current challenges to get the right solutions — and full nationalisation is a political not a practical solution, which will increase costs over time.

‘We welcome the recognition that private sector freight and open access operators have a lot to offer, but passenger train companies also have a track record of growing the railway. They want to partner with the government to achieve this success again, within the new framework.

‘This would give public ownership of a joined-up railway but also use train companies as delivery agents to drive better commercial outcomes — which would produce results faster and at a lower cost. This approach is already being successfully used by Labour mayors in London and Manchester, and increasingly across Europe.’

Jason Prince, Director of the Urban Transport Group of city region transport authorities, said the speech ‘sends a strong signal of intent that this government is serious about transforming our transport sector’. The bills ‘could lead to big improvements in transport’, and city regions ‘stand ready to work with the new government to help realise their ambitions’.

CEO of the Business Travel Association Clive Wratten said ’we need to see a top passenger champion at the head of a new board to ensure that a rail revolution is delivered by Great British Railways’.

Supply chain

Speaking for rail suppliers, Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan said ’RIA and our members support the government’s pledge to establish a reformed and unified railway system under Great British Railways focused on improving affordability, reliability and performance. A new body with strategic oversight and responsibility for rail can focus on meeting growing passenger demand and boosting industry revenues.

’Rail suppliers will also be positive about the previously announced plans to set out a strong and visible pipeline of rail work for the sector and to develop a long-term industrial strategy for rolling stock.’

Jonathan Willcock, Managing Director of Transportation at Costain, said ‘the UK needs a world-class rail network to support jobs, growth and net zero’ which requires ‘significant investment, particularly in the north of England’. He said Great British Railways ‘should adopt an approach to investment that directs improvements in infrastructure towards opportunities for economic growth’, and the transport network needs to be seen as ’part of a holistic and long-term view of wider infrastructure’.

Grant Klein, transport leader at PwC, said the announcements ‘give the green light to greater levels of connectivity’. He said ‘it is clear regional level plans are needed, providing the infrastructure and transport services that give citizens a joined-up experience’.

Mark Plowright, Director at Virgin Trains Ticketing, said the private sector has played an important role in bringing digital ticketing capabilities to fruition, and ‘a vibrant market of independent and competing retailers that all have access to the same simplified fares is what’s needed to drive value for passengers and attract new customers’. He added ‘we are also delighted to see the government’s continued support for open access’.

Trade unions

Welcoming the announcements, RMT trade union General Secretary Mick Lynch said ’we will continue to articulate what is in the best interests of railway workers and working people as a whole. We will also continue to actively engage with the government on the pay issues in our sectors which can be resolved quickly.

‘Labour has also committed to upgrading rail connectivity in the north. Our belief is that HS2 remains the best option for improving transport links, promoting economic growth and building a modern railway infrastructure, fit for the 21st century.’

Mick Whelan, General Secretary of train drivers’ union ASLEF, said ’the privateers have taken hundreds of millions of pounds from our railways and successive Conservative governments have pursued a policy of managed decline which has sold taxpayers, passengers and staff short. Now we are going to see the wheels and the steel put back together, an end to the failed fragmentation of our network, and a railway brought back into the public sector, where it belongs, to be run as a public service, not for private profit.’