Remember the Rail Review?

Keith Williams’s Rail Review was commissioned in May 2018, triggered by new timetable chaos particularly on Thameslink and Northern at the time. Mr Williams concluded in 2022 that the railways are too fragmented, too complicated, too expensive to run and that there was no single accountable body or take responsibility. Railfuture members were keenly aware of this, as was the industry itself, though given the contractual money go round, not everybody in the industry was keen to recognise this. When they did, many voices were about caution, ie let’s get it right by doing this slowly - so maximising cash flow as long as possible - the proverbial cash cow.
In January 2025 the government’s consultation ‘A railway fit for Britain’s future’ on the Railways Bill outlined plans to set up GBR as an arm’s length body, responsible for rail services and infrastructure. Railfuture responded to this consultation.

Great British Railways

In May 2025, the government announced that GBR would be created around 12 months after legislation was passed. “GBR will end years of fragmentation and will have a relentless focus on driving up standards, including simpler fares and ticketing. It will have the independence and tools to deliver improvements to rail services and plan and run the railway on a long term basis in the interests of its passenger and freight customers and taxpayers.”

“Instead of having 14 separate train operators, passengers will once again simply be using ‘the railway.' They will travel on GBR trains running on GBR tracks - all run by a single body focused on their interests. This will mean fewer delays, a better experience, and a timetable that better serves their needs.”

The Railways Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 5th November 2025 so we are looking at the start of 2027 before implementation. The benefits quoted in official spin will only come if an organisation is set up properly with the right people and the right financial incentives.

The Bill will require the government to create and maintain a Long Term Rail Strategy which will include 5 strategic objectives: meeting customers’ needs, financial sustainability, long-term economic growth, reducing regional and national inequality and environmental sustainability – reflecting the strategic objectives we called for a year ago.

Transfers to the public sector

In the meantime the government has launched its rail public ownership programme, making an announcement that services will transfer to public ownership upon contract termination either after an intermediate break clause or at contract renewal, or if a contract defaults. The Department for Transport will not be buying out contracts or force transfers to the public sector using the legislation. The first English transfer was South Western Railway on the 25th May 2025, followed by c2c on 20th July 2025, then Greater Anglia on 12th October 2025. West Midlands Trains will follow on 1st February 2026 and GTR on 31st May 2026, with Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway following before the end of 2026. Four operators - Northern, LNER, TransPennine Express, and Southeastern - were already in the public sector. Given contract renewal dates this process should be complete by the end of 2027.

When a franchise changes hands following a competition, the staff transfer across with the same conditions under the Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment, Regulations. The management did change though. In this arrangement the extant management team have largely carried on, unlike the situation when a franchise has been taken in on account of a default – although the opportunity has been taken to combine the operator with the relevant Network Rail route organisation. For example, managing director Lawrence Bowman, who has previous experience in both a train operator and Network Rail, is responsible for both South Western Railway and the Wessex Route. It is not surprising that these services have, so far, carried on as before. The station signing brands have disappeared but the trains remain for now as if nothing has happened. These former DfT franchises, now direct contracts, will each transfer to a new state-owned operating company which will be a subsidiary of DfT Operations Ltd. These services will gently mutate into public sector operators.

Three hundred staff previously with DfT are being moved to DfTO, the government body which has taken control of the train operators in public ownership, and which will become part of GBR. This is a step in the right direction – but some might speculate whether these staff, who until now have been shadowing managers in the train operators, will form an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy in GBR.

Passenger services

The Railways Bill will give GBR, operating with a business mindset, responsibility for day-to-day railway decisions and operations. This should mean that professional railway managers have the freedom to make decisions which maximise opportunities to increase revenue, value for money and customer satisfaction.

The Railways Bill expects a gradual move away from the current approach of an annual blanket fares increase towards giving GBR more commercial freedom to manage fares strategically. However, there is no indication of whether the aim will be to improve profitability or to encourage passengers to shift from private to public transport.

Devolved operations

Scotland already has a devolved rail service operator. What is planned for Wales is more tricky given the fact that the Borders Line connects up all three, ie North, Central and South Wales networks, so requiring joint governance arrangements for this route including how these services interact. A partnership MOU is to be developed between GBR and Transport for Wales for the borders area. Merseyrail and Transport for London Overground services are also devolved.

It remains to be seen how GBR will create a culture which genuinely puts the customer first while reconciling the demands of devolved authorities with those of a national rail system.

Freight services

Privately operated open access freight services are a success story and the current arrangements must not be wrecked by these new arrangements. Rail freight is network wide and needs to be planned as such. Railfuture contends that more government effort is needed to promote modal transfer to rail and to ensure that investment in the network to facilitate rail freight growth. We are concerned that the GBR exercise needs more focus on freight and the achievement of government's own paltry rail freight growth target (75% by 2050, the same as expected economic growth, so zero modal shift is planned). It is after all Great British Railways (plural), not just Great British Passenger Railway.

Network Rail

GBR will take over the railway, replacing Network Rail and most individual passenger operators. Network Rail not only maintains the railway, it operates the signalling and control systems, provides train planning, runs the major stations and importantly, undertakes major projects to upgrade the railway to provide more capacity. The wording suggests GBR is completely new, not a rebadged Network Rail. The government would be wise to build on the strengths of the Network Rail organisation and its operational project delivery safety regime, albeit aligned along specific routes aligned to principal train services operating over these routes.

Current operational safety arrangements must be respected, but there is more to be done on personal safety for staff and customers.

Implementation

So we have the principles and we should have the enabling legislation in place by the end of next year 2026. It is not as clear as it should be on how investment will come into the industry in a less haphazard way, so promoting the efficiency of project delivery essential for electrification schemes and capacity upgrades.

We are only at the starting grid on implementation.

Key questions

These are the 6 key questions Railfuture will be asking.

1. Will the spin on the customer interface be followed up by an organisation focused on customer needs? We will need evidence.

2. There will be a new ticketing app replacing the 14 apps of the individual operators, but is there anything in the plans which will actually deliver a coherent, flexible and value for money, fares system?

3. How will the structure actually improve operational service quality both for passengers and for freight customers?

4. Will the industry be equipped to invest in efficiency through investment and improved relations with rail staff and trade unions?

5. Will devolution be truly incorporated so allowing devolved authorities to participate and invest in the future of the railways and indeed make informed choices between modes? How will devolved structures in GBR align with devolved Mayoral Strategic Authorities?

6. Will there be a secure industry funding stream to ensure service delivery and invest in future growth?

We have our work cut out over the next year but Railfuture, given its nationwide coverage through our branches and our group contacts, has every opportunity to ensure these questions are addressed. We intend to campaign to ensure the resulting railway indeed does live up to the government spin and deliver a responsive, growing rail service.


Railways Bill

Rail reform and Great British Railways – written government statement to the House of Commons

A railway fit for Britain's future: government response to consultation

Strategic plan for homes

Rail reform