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Planned British state-owned rail transport operator
Great British Railways (GBR) is a planned state-owned railway company that will operate most rail infrastructure in Great Britain, most passenger rail services in England, and some cross-border passenger rail services in Scotland and Wales.[citation needed]
It will be established with the passing of the forthcoming Railways Bill, as part of the Starmer government's plans to re-nationalise the railways. It will absorb the functions of Network Rail to own and manage most railway infrastructure (stations, track and signalling), the Rail Delivery Group, the DfT Operator, parts of the Department for Transport, and each of the passenger service franchises, as their contracts expire.
Although the process of re-nationalising passenger services is already underway, with a shadow GBR body in place, the timescale for the formal establishment of GBR remains unclear, and is expected no earlier than late 2026. The chair of Shadow Great British Rail is Laura Shoaf.
GBR will be responsible for the operational delivery of the railways in the existing areas of Network Rail, i.e. England, Scotland and Wales. This will include passenger services; planning timetables; operation and maintenance of rolling stock; setting fares; and managing access to the network, including setting charges for existing and future open access operators. Also excluded are Transport for London, Merseyrail, ScotRail, Transport for Wales Rail, light rail and tram services.
At the same time, GBR will assume the existing responsibilities of Network Rail, to become the owner and manager of most railway infrastructure, including track and stations, across Great Britain.
The Rail Delivery Group and some functions of the Department for Transport (DfT) will also be integrated into the new organisation, which will be run as an arms-length body led by industry experts.[1]
The railway system in Great Britain was originally built and run by private companies, until in 1947 the Attlee government nationalised the big four, forming British Railways. Following a series of reforms and attempted modernisations, in 1994 the Major government began a programme of privatisation of the railways. The infrastructure was privately owned and operated by Railtrack from 1994 until 2002, when it was renationalised and transferred to Network Rail.[2]
British Rail's passenger services moved to a franchise system run by privately owned train operating companies (TOCs) such as FirstGroup and Arriva, with the DfT (DfT OLR Holdings) taking control of a service in cases of poor performance or financial troubles. Several franchises, including Northern and TransPennine Express, were already under public control by this function prior to the forming of GBR, although this was intended to be temporary.[3][4] Transport for Wales Rail and ScotRail were also brought under public control by their devolved governments in 2021 and 2022 respectively.[5][6]
During 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, all TOCs entered into Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements with the UK and Scottish governments.[7] Normal franchise mechanisms were amended, transferring almost all revenue and cost risk to the government, effectively re-nationalising those services temporarily.[8][9] In September 2020, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps axed the rail franchising system, switching to direct National Rail Contracts (NRCs) to make way for long-term reform.[10]
Williams–Shapps Plan[edit]In 2018, the Transport Secretary for the May government, Chris Grayling, announced a review into the rail system, led by Keith Williams.[11] Published in 2021, the Williams–Shapps Rail Review recommended the formation of a new publicly owned Great British Railways organisation. The proposals included the introduction of a concession model with Passenger Service Contracts (PSCs) awarded to privately owned operators, and with GBR setting fares and timetabling.[12]
In October 2022, Transport Secretary for the short-lived Truss government, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, announced that the Transport Bill (which would have set up GBR) would not go ahead in the current parliamentary session.[13][14] In February 2023, the subsequent Transport Secretary for the Sunak government, Mark Harper, reaffirmed the government's commitment to GBR and rail reform.[15] The 2023 King's speech announced the progression of a draft Rail Reform Bill which would enable the establishment of GBR, although it was not timetabled in the parliamentary programme.[16] Harper later told the Transport Select Committee that the legislation was unlikely to reach Royal Assent within the 2023–2024 parliamentary session.[17]
In May 2024, the Public Accounts Committee reported the DfT had "achieved very little" on rail reform, and that the role of GBR remained unclear.[18]
Prior to the 2024 general election, the Labour Party revealed their plan for rail reform under the same Great British Railways name, including re-nationalising passenger services, while preserving the role of open-access operators.[19] Each remaining service would come into public ownership by 2027 as TOC contracts expired, to avoid any cost in compensation,[20] reunifying passenger services and infrastructure under one publicly owned entity for the first time since the privatisation of British Rail. Freight services will remain privately owned,[20] and the rolling stock (the trains themselves) would remain privately owned by ROSCOs, citing high cost of nationalisation.[20]
Following its election victory in 2024, the Starmer government announced that GBR would be established by two bills in the first parliamentary session: the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, to bring rail franchises into public ownership as their contracts expire, and the Railways Bill, which will establish GBR to oversee the passenger and freight rail network.[21][22] The first of which was introduced by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh on 18 July 2024.[23] In September 2024, the Government formed a shadow body to start the work of GBR in advance of its legal establishment.[24]
In November 2024 with the passing of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, the publicly owned DfT Operator, previously the fallback operator in the franchise system, became the preferred operator.[25] South Western Railway (SWR) was the first planned nationalisation, coming under public control on 25 May 2025, with some trains receiving a GBR-branded "coming soon" livery.[26] The very first SWR service under public ownership was a rail replacement bus due to planned engineering works.[26]
Prior to the establishment of GBR, a transitional body, Shadow Great British Railway has been established.[27] Its chair is Laura Shoaf,[28] previous the managing director of Transport for West Midlands.
Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and broadcaster Michael Portillo promote the national competition to host the headquarters of Great British RailwaysThe government promised to base the organisation outside London to promote economic growth and skills in a region outside the capital.[29] In February 2022, the DfT launched a public consultation for the location of GBR's headquarters.[30] In total, 42 towns and cities submitted expressions of interest.[31]
A shortlist comprising Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle upon Tyne, and York was announced in July 2022,[32] using the following criteria: alignment with "levelling up" objectives; connected and easy to get to; opportunities for GBR; railway heritage and links to the network; value for money; and public support.[32] A public vote was held following the announcement.[32]
In March 2023, then Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced Derby as the headquarters location.[33][34]
The British Rail Double Arrow, designed by Gerry Barney in 1965The 2021 Williams-Shapps plan recommended that GBR should use modified forms of British Rail's Double Arrow symbol and Rail Alphabet typeface – Rail Symbol 2 and Rail Alphabet 2 respectively – for its branding, to achieve a single, unifying brand for railways. It proposed that this would be a gradual rebranding over time. English regions, Scotland, and Wales would have their own variants, but these would still emphasise the national nature of GBR. The white paper did not specify whether the branding of devolved railways such as London Overground and Merseyrail would be affected.[35]
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