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The text of the Act of Parliament which will create Great British Railways will enter Parliament today.

The Department for Transport said: ‘GBR will be accountable to passengers, freight customers and taxpayers and will drive a relentless focus on responding to their needs. Responsible for co-ordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue – GBR will deliver lasting change.’

Transport secretary Heidi Aexander explained: ‘Britain deserves a railway that is fit for the future – one that rebuilds the trust of its passengers, regenerates its communities and restores reliability and value for money.

‘The introduction of this legislation is a major step towards a rail network that supports Britain’s businesses and delivers for the travelling public – paving the way for economic growth and access to opportunity across the country.’

The launch of the Bill will confirm the beginning of the end for the privatised railway, which was launched by John Major’s Conservative government in 1993.

Major reforms in the Bill include a strengthened Passenger Watchdog which will act as passengers’ champion and create a ‘better, more inclusive railway’. There will be a reform of fares and tcketing, and passengers will ‘ultimately’ be able to purchase tickets through a new GBR website and app, replacing 14 existing operator sites.

The DfT also said there would be ‘better business planning‘: the Railways Bill will place a duty on GBR to enxourage rail freight, giving ‘critical stability to the railway’s supply chain and increase investor confidence and support the growth of the sector’.

Decisions will be made in many cases by devolved governments and.local authorities.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: ‘The introduction of the Railways Bill to Parliament marks a pivotal moment for rail reform across the country. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make trains more reliable and tickets easier to use, with clearer accountability for passengers and greater confidence in every journey.

‘In Greater Manchester, we’re already making progress by working with the government and the rail industry to connect trains, buses, trams, and cycling routes as part of the next phase of the Bee Network. We’ll keep working closely with partners to shape the new legislation, ensuring Mayors and city regions have a key statutory role in joining up the railways in their areas, making them work for everyone and unlocking rail as an engine of growth across the country.’

The Government has published an executive summary of its plans and also a set of factsheets.

Readers’ comments

I welcome the GBR announcement and particularly the subtleties in 3 key paragraphs on Open Access & ROSCOs.

“We also want the private sector to seize the opportunities where its risk appetite and innovation can provide solutions a publicly owned company cannot… in a financially sustainable way, which takes into account the large amount of cross-subsidy across the network and balances the comparatively few profitable routes with the need for the broader financial sustainability of our railways...”

“whilst open access will continue to play an important role on the network, it must genuinely add value that benefits the public and aligns with the overall strategy for growth on our railways... Existing access rights for open access operators will be honoured by GBR until the end of current contracts… driving innovation and growth across our railways, while balancing the needs of passengers and taxpayers.”

“GBR will work with ROSCOs and manufacturers in a much more effective and streamlined way...  GBR, will continue to lease existing rolling stock from ROSCOs where they can offer value for money terms. The government will develop a long-term industrial strategy for rolling stock, [to] support manufacturing and ensure a stable pipeline of work… enable greater certainty and lower risk for the supply chain [and] be a better way to secure value for money.”

John Porter, Leeds

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