Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the annual running costs of Great British Railways from 2023 when all franchises will have ended.
Transformation on this scale cannot happen overnight. The government is setting up a Rail Transformation Programme within the department and the rail industry to establish a common understanding of the vision, set out the phases of delivery and work collectively with the sector to design and implement this major programme. As a respected leader in the sector, Andrew Haines has been asked to develop plans for establishing interim arrangement, drawing on expertise across industry and beyond.
Great British Railways will be able to make substantial net savings without detriment to service or fare levels by reducing duplication, interface costs and complexity. Savings from reform will take several years to realise, but industry experts suggest that after an initial five-year implementation period, substantial annual costs savings could be achieved.
We will make an announcement on next steps in relation to setting up Great British Railways in due course.