Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to increase public awareness of the potential impact of changes in the (a) responsibilities and (b) role of Great British Rail on journey times.

The Government is reforming the railways to ensure they are fit for the 21st century. Central to this is the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR).

The legislation needed to establish Great British Railways is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny and we have published the Government’s response to the legislation consultation.

Once established, GBR will bring infrastructure, operations and strategic finance decisions together, better addressing customers whilst delivering a simpler and better railway.

In advance of legislation to establish GBR, we have reorganised DfT, creating an integrated Rail Services Group, bringing together most of Passenger Services and Rail Infrastructure Group, focussed on the day-to-day operational performance of the railway. This is part of paving the way to an integrated rail body which will put customers at the heart of decision-making.

Ministers regularly speak about rail reform and ahead of the creation of GBR, the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) has been created to lay the foundations for GBR while also promoting the benefits of rail reform including through the Great British Rail Sale initiative. The second Great British Rail Sale generated around £4.9m in savings for passengers, according to industry estimates, with around 580,000 tickets sold.