Railways Bill

Lord Sentamu Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 7th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sentamu (CB)]

My Lords, we all say to the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of Dinton, on his valedictory speech: thank you for lifting our spirits. We will miss you. It is good to follow the noble Lord, Lord Doyle, and all 26 noble Lords who have spoken. Some of them have stolen my words so it is no good me repeating them.

In my contribution to the Second Reading of this very important Bill, I begin by recalling an event at York station on 23 April 2017. It involved four generations of trains on the same track—the east coast main line—at the same time, travelling in the same direction, celebrating the past, the future and the present. A total of five trains took part in the historic Four Trains event. The occasion was also a celebration of the east coast main line, where four of the trains travelled side by side.

The four trains featured in the line-up included the “Flying Scotsman”, the iconic steam locomotive; the Virgin Trains East Coast Class 43 HST—that is, high speed train; the InterCity 125, nicknamed the 125 because of its top operational speed of 125 mph; and the InterCity 225 Class 91, designed for a maximum speed of 140 mph but, due to British railway signalling regulations, its operational top speed is restricted to 125 mph in regular service. Still, during testing it achieved a record speed of 162 mph—what a pity. Then there was the Hitachi Azuma Class 800, which had yet to come into service but was to do so in 12 months. Its operating speed is 125 mph. On sections equipped with in-cab European train control systems signalling, it is capable of reaching 140 mph.

Having arrived early, we saw the Class 55 Deltic D9002 “King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry” being used to haul the “Flying Scotsman” into position before all four trains were lined up alongside each other. I suggest that that historic event should remind us, as we consider this Bill, to celebrate the past, present and future of our railways. To move forward demands that we know where we are coming from but not to be enslaved by the past. There should not just be grumbles; there must be some elements of celebration of the amazing engineering that created trains in this country.

The passengers, customers and workers held a clear and firm view that the best period for the east coast main line was when it was under GNER, Great North Eastern Railway, between 1996 and 2007. The leadership and management of its chief executive, Christopher Garnett, brother of the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, was head and shoulders above that of anyone before or since. As with all enterprises, if we have the right leader at the top, all is possible, and that is not linked to ownership. As the noble Baroness, Lady Leaman, ably reminded us, success will not be purely the structures we have created by this Bill but the results in terms of the satisfaction of passengers and customers. As a Yorkshire farmer said to me, “I plant grass for my dairy cattle, and I only know that the grass is good when I see the smile on the face of a cow”. May we in what we are doing create a similar reality.

I wholeheartedly endorse Clause 3 in Chapter 1 of Part 1, which sets out the seven functions of Great British Railways. I declare an interest as a regular user of trains in London and on the east coast main line, even when on one occasion the train I was on was delayed by 666 minutes. Yes, they could do better. All our trains could do better. That is what this Bill is about.

May this Bill do what Christopher Garnett did. I know that British passengers and customers have the capacity to put up with what is intolerable. Let us improve the Bill to become a clarion call to our trains, saying, “Enough is enough. We want you to be the change we want to see”, but this will depend largely on finding leaders whose actions will inspire others to dream more, to learn more, to do more and to become more—nudging everyone towards that horizon of hope.

Will the Minister assure your Lordships’ House that this Bill will give him the tools he needs to bring about the change he knows in his heart must happen? I say to the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, “You have what it takes. Please do it.” Politicians may not want to go all the way to where they should go, but they can pave the way to do it and be like the English football team. I want to say, “Come on, Lord Hendy!”

It is a delight to speak in this debate, and I wish it great success. There is no holding back, because this is a critical time for us to be the greatest people who run trains, unlike those who have just followed us.