Government establishes Shadow GBR as Passenger Railways Services Bill reaches final stages

Government is pushing ahead with its rail reform programme by announcing the launch of Shadow Great British Railways, ushering in, said Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, “a new era for our railways which puts passengers first”.

The launch of Shadow Great British Railways (Shadow GBR) will set in motion a huge overhaul of the running of the rail network, bringing together the Department for Transport, Network Rail and publicly-owned operators.

Shadow GBR is paving the way for Great British Railways – the new unified arm’s length body responsible for finally bringing track and train back together and overseeing both services and infrastructure.

The announcement on 3 September comes as the government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill continues its passage through the Commons, marking further progress in the Transport Secretary’s mission “to put rail services back into the hands of the public”. Under the Bill the government will nationalise franchised passenger railway services when existing contracts with private sector operators come to an end.

The legislation reinforces the government’s relentless focus on prioritising “passengers over private companies, putting the railways back on track, while saving taxpayers up to an estimated £150 million every year in fees alone in the process.”

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said, “Today, I am firing the starting gun on the biggest reforms to our railways in a generation. I am determined to end the chaos, delay and disruption faced by people on train journeys every day.

“Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train, and by progressing the Passenger Railways Services Bill we’re one step closer to public ownership which will help put our railways back on track.

“This is about making the railways work for the people that use them – putting passengers first and driving up performance.”