Found: Letter from the Minister for Rail, Department for Transport relating to Great British Railways and Railways Bill

Found: s Speech Great British Railways Rail infrastructure and operator (will include Network Rail) Railways Bill

Found: The government has recently launched a consultation on the Railways Bill ahead of introduction later

Found: The important thing about devolution in the forthcoming railways Bill is the additional inclusion of

Found: stand ready to respond to the new UK Government’s promised consultation in preparation for the Railways Bill

Found: should be either included in the rolling stock strategy or in primary legislation in the upcoming Railways Bill

Found: The Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation.

Found: the Passenger Standards Authority, which will also be created, at least for the railway, by the railways Bill

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether appointments to Great British Railways will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the Chair will be classified as a Significant Appointment.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

After the Railways Bill is scrutinised by Parliament, and as part of the design of Great British Railways, we will consider whether to propose an amendment to the Public Bodies Order in Council. We expect that the GBR Chair will be classed as a significant appointment.

Parliament will have an opportunity to scrutinise GBR’s duties when the bill is taken through Parliament later this session.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce private car ownership and improve the connectivity of public transport.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government recognises the importance of improving public transport to ensure that people have greater choice around how they travel and has recently confirmed its commitment to phasing out new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines from 2030.

The Government have set out an ambitious programme of reform to help improve bus services and grow usage across the country. The Bus Services (No.2) Bill, introduced on 17 December, puts power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them. In the Autumn Budget, the Government also confirmed investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services and keep bus fares affordable.

The Government have also set out plans to create a unified and simplified railway that places train operations under public ownership and control, putting passengers first and rebuilding trust. The Railways Bill, which will be introduced later this session, will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. Alongside this, the Prime Minister has announced more funding to deliver the largest rail investment in the North in decades.

As part of our commitment to local transport, we have uplifted City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding in 2025-26 by £200m, helping to improve the local transport in our largest city regions and drive growth and productivity across the country. This brings local transport spending for Metro Mayors in 2025-26 to £1.3bn. Also at the Autumn Budget, we allocated over £650m funding for local transport outside of our city regions to improve connectivity and support local growth in our smaller cities, towns, villages and rural areas in England outside London.

The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year and will focus on how transport should be designed, built, and operated to better serve the people who use it, connecting people to housing, jobs and public services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with disabled passenger groups about achieving independent travel for disabled travellers on all forms of public transport.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The government is committed to making transport more inclusive and accessible right across the country, so that it enables disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. Ministers are advised on accessible transport policy by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, whose membership is required to include at least 50% disabled people.

The Department for Transport also regularly meets with stakeholders to discuss a range of issues, including improving accessibility across the transport network. For example, the Department has engaged with organisations representing disabled passengers throughout the development of the Bus Services (No.2) Bill and the continuing consultation on the forthcoming Railways Bill, as well as through the engagement activities for the Integrated National Transport Strategy.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body will have the directing role in confirming operational timetables exploiting released capacity.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department specifies the services it seeks to procure through its contracts with operators. Trains operate on very restricted infrastructure and timetables must be carefully planned to operate around other services. The scheduling service is conducted by Network Rail. Network Rail is held to account by the Office of Rail and Road.

The Railways Bill consultation proposes that in future Great British Railways will have consolidated accountability for planning the use of its rail network.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will add public interest duties to her Department’s open consultation entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The consultation is clear that Great British Railways (GBR) will run our rail infrastructure and passenger services in the public interest. The consultation has not specified GBR’s exact duties and functions, and we welcome views on these. All responses to the consultation will be considered ahead of introduction of the forthcoming Railways Bill.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will ensure that Great British Railways has a statutory accessibility duty.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Accessibility is a priority for this Government and we are committed to delivering a rail system which allows disabled people to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. The ongoing Railways Bill consultation is already clear that accessibility will be central to Great British Railways.

GBR will therefore be subject to requirements – either licence conditions

or statutory duties – to ensure this happens. That includes requirements relating to accessibility and engaging accessibility stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new Great British Railways ticketing system will automatically identify the cheapest combination of fares for each journey.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Once Great British Railways is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. It will work alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail.

The Railways Bill consultation, which launched on 18 February, will help us develop more detailed plans for GBR’s retail offer. We are consulting closely with industry, the private sector, and wider stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Network Rail’s debt will move to the balance sheet of Great British Railways.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The public consultation for the government’s upcoming Railways Bill was launched in February. This consultation sets out our proposals for the most comprehensive reform of Britain’s railways in 30 years.

This included the plan to establish Great British Railways (GBR) as the directing mind in charge of Britain’s railway, bringing responsibility for train services and rail infrastructure together into one integrated organisation.

GBR will accordingly be designed in an appropriate manner so that it can efficiently and effectively carry out its intended functions. The future of Network Rail’s legacy debt will be considered as part of the detailed design process.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed rail reforms on commuter services from Bletchley.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. It will create stronger leadership by establishing Great British Railways as a new ‘directing mind’ for the industry, unifying track and train under a single public body to deliver better services for passengers and customers, and better value for money for taxpayers.

The Government launched an eight-week consultation on 18 February seeking views on the key legislative proposals that will form part of the upcoming Railways Bill.

Services from Bletchley will benefit from the changes set out above, alongside the rest of the network.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what guidance she plans to issue to combined authority mayors on ensuring (a) clear accountability for the implementation of new devolved transport powers and (b) that regional transport planning (i) aligns with the work of Great British Rail and (ii) helps to deliver a cohesive national rail strategy.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The English Devolution Accountability Framework and Scrutiny Protocol set out the accountability requirements for all Combined Authorities. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s English Devolution White Paper set out the government’s commitment to work with the sector to explore a number of measures to enhance local scrutiny and accountability.

Where a Mayoral Combined Authority is in receipt of an integrated funding settlement, this will be underpinned by the Memorandum of Understanding, available at Integrated Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities - GOV.UK, and an individual outcomes framework for delivery, to be agreed with government.

For the transport measures that require implementation guidance, this is being developed and will be published in due course. Devolved leaders in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have a statutory role in governing, managing, planning and developing the Great British Railways (GBR) network. GBR will be organised to work collaboratively with mayors and local stakeholders, ensuring rail better meets local needs. Supporting this, GBR will agree partnerships with mayors, demonstrating a change in how the railway engages locally.

Local influence and control will need to be balanced with Great British Railways (GBR) taking decisions in the interest of the wider regional and national network in line with the Long-Term Rail Strategy that will be put in place.

On 18^th February we launched the 8-week public consultation into the Government’s proposals for the Railways Bill. This consultation seeks views on the key legislative proposals that will form part of the upcoming Railways Bill and make that vision a reality.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's White Paper, English Devolution, published on 16 December 2024, when she will publish guidance on the (a) powers and (b) implementation accountability of Metro Mayors on transport; and how Metro Mayors' powers will align with Great British Railways' (a) role and (b) responsibility to deliver a national rail strategy.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The English Devolution Accountability Framework and Scrutiny Protocol set out the accountability requirements for all Combined Authorities. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s English Devolution White Paper set out the government’s commitment to work with the sector to explore a number of measures to enhance local scrutiny and accountability.

Where a Mayoral Combined Authority is in receipt of an integrated funding settlement, this will be underpinned by the Memorandum of Understanding, available at Integrated Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities - GOV.UK, and an individual outcomes framework for delivery, to be agreed with government.

For the transport measures that require implementation guidance, this is being developed and will be published in due course. Devolved leaders in Mayoral Combined Authorities will have a statutory role in governing, managing, planning and developing the Great British Railways (GBR) network. GBR will be organised to work collaboratively with mayors and local stakeholders, ensuring rail better meets local needs. Supporting this, GBR will agree partnerships with mayors, demonstrating a change in how the railway engages locally.

Local influence and control will need to be balanced with Great British Railways (GBR) taking decisions in the interest of the wider regional and national network in line with the Long-Term Rail Strategy that will be put in place. Further detail is outlined in an 8-week public consultation into the Government’s proposals for the Railways Bill, published on 18^th February. This consultation seeks views on the key legislative proposals that will form part of the upcoming Railways Bill and make that vision a reality.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the proposed statutory powers of Metro Mayors for rail services will operate under Great British Railways.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The statutory role for mayors in governing, managing, planning and developing the rail network intends to bring decision making within Great British Railways as close as possible to local communities. This will empower local leaders and support the development of seamless, integrated transport networks and a public transport system that properly serves local areas.

Further detail will be outlined in an upcoming consultation on the Railways Bill, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, whether the Rolling Stock Strategy will include branch lines.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to ending years of poor service and fragmentation on the railways, by creating a unified and simplified system through public ownership of train operations and by establishing Great British Railways (GBR).

The forthcoming Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. It will create stronger leadership by establishing GBR as a new ‘directing mind’ for the industry, bringing together the management of the rail network and the delivery of passenger services into a single public body.

GBR will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system effectively on a long-term basis, driving up performance and reliability.

The Government is working at pace to develop the framework for a rolling stock strategy which will include considerations around the timelines for new build, refurbishments, and potential cascades. Once established, GBR will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs across the entire network including branch lines.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, whether new builds will ensure sufficient capacity is procured in the future for the Henley Branch Line to cover moments of peak demand.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to ending years of poor service and fragmentation on the railways, by creating a unified and simplified system through public ownership of train operations and by establishing Great British Railways (GBR).

The forthcoming Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. It will create stronger leadership by establishing GBR as a new ‘directing mind’ for the industry, bringing together the management of the rail network and the delivery of passenger services into a single public body.

GBR will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system effectively on a long-term basis, driving up performance and reliability.

The Government is working at pace to develop the framework for a rolling stock strategy which will include considerations around the timelines for new build, refurbishments, and potential cascades. Once established, GBR will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs across the entire network including branch lines.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new government-backed train ticket website will include a search facility to help people affected by train delays find actual past (a) departure and (b) arrival times to support their claims under the Delay Repay scheme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Once Great British Railways is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. It will work alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail.

Exact plans will now be developed in close partnership with industry, the private sector and wider stakeholders, with further detail to be consulted on shortly as part of the Railways Bill consultation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her timeline is for the establishment of Great British Railways; and what key milestones she expects to reach in the next 12 months.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The King’s Speech confirmed legislation – the Railways Bill – will be introduced to create Great British Railways in the first Parliamentary session. The consultation on this legislation will be published around the turn of the year. We anticipate GBR to be set up over the following 12 months after the legislation receives Royal Assent.

We feel that the Welsh rail network is treated as second class compared to England. The nation has 11% of the entire UK's rail network, has 5% of the UK's population but receives just 1% of rail infrastructure funding.

Found: The UK government could use the Railways Bill this year to create a mechanism to guarantee fair funding

Found: Kings Cross Railways Bill – Petitions of Patrick Roper and 13 others – 10 petitions disallowed [session

Found: reform — establishing Shadow Great British Railways and launching a consultation on the upcoming Railways Bill

Found: On Tuesday 18 February, I launched the public consultation for the government’s upcoming Railways Bill

Found: overhaul of the fundamental rules, structures, and bodies that make up the rail industry via the Railways Bill

Found: overhaul of the fundamental rules, structures, and bodies that make up the rail industry via the Railways Bill

Found: railway 8 Six clear objectives 9 The need for reform 10 Our plan for change 12 Paving the way: A new Railways Bill

Found: We are seeking views on new policies to be included in the forthcoming Railways Bill, which will enable

Found: 7 Six clear objectives 7 The need for reform 8 Our plan for change 9 Paving the way: A new Railways Bill

Found: 7 Six clear objectives 7 The need for reform 8 Our plan for change 9 Paving the way: A new Railways Bill

Found: Road and Rail, including streamlining its duties, as part of the Government's response to the Railways Bill

Found: The Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation.

Found: announcement of the UK Government’s plans for reorganisation of the railways and publication of the Railways Bill

Found: Railways Bill Progress in Parliament:25/11/04: Presentation & 1 st reading06/12/04: 2 nd reading Jan

Found: Railways Bill Royal Assent 07/04/05 Railways Act 2005 (Ch.14) Economic Development and Transport

Found: announcement of the UK Government’s plans for reorganisation of the railways and publication of the Railways Bill

Found: announcement of the UK Government’s plans for reorganisation of the railways and publication of the Railways Bill

Found: changes to the Bill from the earlier draft due to the UK Government’s Rail Review and the subsequent Railways Bill

Found: announcement of the UK Government’s plans for reorganisation of the railways and publication of the Railways Bill

Found: announcement of the UK Government’s plans for reorganisation of the railways and publication of the Railways Bill