| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by ChrisB at 17:48, 11th November 2025 |     |
It certainly does....
“It gives power to the mayors of the combined authorities,” Hendy said. “GBR must interact with them and must listen to what they say about the provision of services in their areas.”
I haven't read or heard about other consultees been mandated, so it looks as though we will need to open channels with the Transport Authorities of the Elected Mayoral areas once they are all established - if you want influence over your areas rail services
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by grahame at 06:27, 11th November 2025 | |
Interesting article in From New Civil Engineer
Rail minister Lord Hendy says he expects that rail reform will bring “more reliability, higher revenue and reduced cost” on the UK’s railways.
Last week, the government introduced its long-trailed Railways Bill to Parliament. This will establish Great British Railways (GBR) to bring control of the infrastructure and services under one publicly-owned entity that will be “responsible for coordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue”, according to the Department for Transport. This, it says, will “create a simpler, more unified railway that delivers easier journeys and offers better value for money”.
[continues]
Last week, the government introduced its long-trailed Railways Bill to Parliament. This will establish Great British Railways (GBR) to bring control of the infrastructure and services under one publicly-owned entity that will be “responsible for coordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue”, according to the Department for Transport. This, it says, will “create a simpler, more unified railway that delivers easier journeys and offers better value for money”.
[continues]
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:02, 5th November 2025 | |
My thanks to ChrisB and grahame for leading me into something of a minefield here.
I suggest that we do have separate topics here, for such sections of the Railways Bill as attract specific comment.
Therefore, I have expanded the heading of grahame's topic, so that we can continue to discuss its implications in the context of the Railways Bill.
However, I am, as ever, open to other suggestions as to how we on the Coffee Shop forum could best deal with this whole subject. CfN.
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by grahame at 17:11, 5th November 2025 | |
I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.
So go on - merge Graham's here too....
I'm going to defer to CfN on this ... busy sorting out server load issues
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by ChrisB at 16:41, 5th November 2025 | |
I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.
So go on - merge Graham's here too....
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by ChrisB at 16:40, 5th November 2025 | |
There are 9 sections under that one link
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill
Graham has started one thread on one of the sections - Passenger Watchdog - and this was to be the start of a second before setting up all the others so that discussion was concentrated on the Government's sectioning.
Rather than concentrating all discussion into two or even one (if you merge Graham's here too) - I think it better to follow the Government's sections?
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 16:38, 5th November 2025 | |
I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.
CfN.
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by ChrisB at 14:58, 5th November 2025 | |
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill/railways-bill-introducing-and-designing-great-british-railways
| Re: Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by ChrisB at 14:55, 5th November 2025 | |
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill
| Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic Posted by stuving at 11:46, 5th November 2025 | |
So, here it is at last. In about an hour's time Heidi Alexander is due to introduce the Railways Bill to Parliament. This is only a formal step, and may not even involve much of a statement (ass no time is allowed for it).
Presentation of Bills
No debate (Standing Order No. 57)
Railways
Secretary Heidi Alexander
Bill to make provision about railways and railway services; and for connected purposes.
No debate (Standing Order No. 57)
Railways
Secretary Heidi Alexander
Bill to make provision about railways and railway services; and for connected purposes.
There was a long statement put out by DfT today - too long to summarise, but you may find interesting bits in it to quote. The key sentence is the last one here:
Declining public trust and pride in today’s railway are symptoms of a system which has lost sight of the very people and customers it is meant to serve. A railway that, for 3 decades, has been focused on contracts and codes rather than the needs of its customers and taxpayers.
Britain deserves a railway fit for its future. One that restores a lost sense of pride and rebuilds the trust of each and every one of its passengers, with a relentless focus on their needs and the growth of their communities. As Transport Secretary, delivering this change is one of my top priorities. This vision is already becoming a reality as we bring more operators back into public ownership. But the outdated model of franchising and structural fragmentation still inhibits how the railway is run.
To fix this, we will introduce a new Railways Bill to fundamentally reform the sector and establish Great British Railways (GBR) as its directing mind.
Britain deserves a railway fit for its future. One that restores a lost sense of pride and rebuilds the trust of each and every one of its passengers, with a relentless focus on their needs and the growth of their communities. As Transport Secretary, delivering this change is one of my top priorities. This vision is already becoming a reality as we bring more operators back into public ownership. But the outdated model of franchising and structural fragmentation still inhibits how the railway is run.
To fix this, we will introduce a new Railways Bill to fundamentally reform the sector and establish Great British Railways (GBR) as its directing mind.
