Sir John Kingman has been named as the first Chair of Great British Railways. Sir John will begin his duties immediately.

The Government said he will play a ‘critical role’ in shaping the design of the new organisation, continuing the integration of train and track operations, as the Railways Bill continues its passage through Parliament.  

He succeeds Laura Shoaf, who was the first chair of the shadow Great British Railways until March this year.

Sir John, whose appointment started today, is a former Chair of Barclays UK PLC, Chair of Legal and General Group PLC and Tesco Personal Finance.

He has also served as second permanent secretary at the Treasury, where he played a major part during the financial crisis pf 2008, including the nationalisation of Northern Rock. He later became the first Chair of UK Research and Innovation, where he oversaw £8 billion in annual science funding.

Industry reaction has been coming in.

RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘On behalf of the Railway Industry Association and our members I would like to congratulate Sir John Kingman on his appointment as the first Chair of Great British Railways. This is a key moment in the development of Great British Railways, and we wish him well in his new role and look forward to working with him as GBR becomes a reality.’

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