Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has formally introduced the Railways Bill and the creation of Great British Railways (GBR), a new publicly owned company set to bring together the management of passenger services and rail infrastructure.
GBR, which will be headquartered in Derby, will create a simpler, more unified railway that delivers easier journeys and offers better value for money. This will include a new one-stop-shop app where passengers can check train times and book tickets.
The Railways Bill will also establish a strengthened passenger watchdog, which will be a powerful new voice to investigate poor service and advocate for improvements.
Major changes in the bill include:
- A strengthened passenger watchdog
Which will act as passengers’ champion and create a better, more inclusive railway for all. The watchdog will have powers to investigate poor service and demand improvements as well as ensuring passengers have a clear and accessible service to escalate their complaints.
- Fare and ticketing reform
The Railways Bill will empower GBR to bring fares and ticketing into the 21st century. Passengers will ultimately be able to purchase tickets through a new GBR website and app, replacing 14 existing operator ticketing platforms. Tickets will be available to purchase at station ticket offices, via ticket vending machines and onboard trains, to ensure all passengers can purchase a ticket with ease and travel with confidence. GBR will also build on the expansion of successful Pay As You Go and fares trials, making travel more flexible and simpler.
- Better business planning
The Railways Bill will place a duty on GBR to grow rail freight, meaning freight operators will benefit from a longer-term strategic approach to planning, including a new capacity allocation and timetabling process. This longer-term certainty for businesses will give critical stability to the railway’s supply chain and increase investor confidence and support the growth of the sector.
- Localised decision making
The Railways Bill will give the devolved governments and England’s mayors a new role and a bigger say in how the railway is run in their patch to improve local connectivity.
Clear need for reform
“Up and down the country and across all political parties, the consensus is clear: our railways need urgent reform. Passengers feel abandoned – forced to treat delays, cancellations and poor value for money as unavoidable facts of daily life,” said Alexander.
“Meanwhile, a broken, outdated model is holding the railway back, stopping it from unlocking the growth our country needs and delivering the efficiency taxpayers rightly expect.”
Alexander noted that passengers are currently at the mercy of a complex system of poorly coordinated organisations, all incentivised to look inward and outsource blame.
GBR will put an end to this by bringing together the work of 17 different organisations – from train operators to public bodies, government, and the regulator – eliminating unnecessary duplication and creating a single organisation responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the railways.
“Unencumbered by the bureaucracy and perverse incentives of the old system, GBR will have the tools and authority it needs to make the railway deliver for passengers, freight and taxpayers – and to be held unambiguously accountable for doing so.
“GBR will create a new culture that prioritises passengers and their experience. It will simplify fares and ticketing, setting more transparent fares in line with parameters set by ministers. It will consolidate the ticket retailing operations of 14 separate train companies – each with their own websites and apps – into a single, straightforward GBR ticketing platform,” she said.
A new GBR app and website will make it easy to purchase tickets, check train times, and access a range of support all in one place. Together, this will make it easier for passengers to understand the fares system, to know they are buying the right ticket and to be confident they are getting the best value, Alexander said.
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