Regional leaders welcome bid to establish Great British Railways watchdog

A landmark Bill aims to “rewire” Britain’s railways, including setting up a powerful passenger watchdog to give passengers a voice and hold train operators to account.

Laura Shoaf, Chair of Shadow Great British Railways, and the chief executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, having previously been MD of Transport for West Midlands, said: “GBR will fundamentally change our railways, delivering growth, connections and opportunities across the country.

“The plans set out today will mean a better railway for everyone that uses it, allowing industry to work closer together, putting passengers and customers first and providing better value for money for taxpayers.”

Outlined in a consultation launched today (February 18), the plans are designed to “smash a broken rail system”, put passengers at the forefront of all decisions made on the railways, ending major failure and disruptions like the 2018 timetabling crisis.

Through this consultation the Government says it will be working with industry to rewire the railways and unite train and track, putting an end to outdated and inefficient processes which have resulted in poor performance, timetable chaos and complex fares and ticketing.

It will also be giving devolved leaders more of a say on the services that directly impact their towns and cities, working together to integrate transport making it simpler to travel and attracting more people to our railways.

The new independent watchdog will be tasked with ensuring GBR addresses the issues that consistently rank highest in passenger complaints, rooting out the problems that cause poor journeys, ensuring passengers are given clear information when they travel, and help tackle the maze of confusing rail fares and tickets passengers have to navigate.

It will hold operators to account on behalf of passengers and arbitrate where passengers are not satisfied about the handling of a complaint.

Working with the Transport Secretary and GBR, it will also be given the powers to set clear standards for passengers on things like journey information and assistance, investigate persistent problems, and publish reports on poor service.

Where poor passenger experiences are identified, it will be able to refer this to the railway regulator for enforcement action.

The Government says growth is at the heart of its missions and the key priority in the Plan for Change, which is why one of GBR’s guiding principles will be to work with the private sector to create jobs and drive investment and innovation.

This includes investing billions of pounds in the private sector supply chain, so that improvements to the network are more coordinated, giving longer term assurance to businesses.

A long term rail strategy will give industry certainty on what they can expect, including a long term plan for rolling stock.

Open access services will continue having a place on the network where they encourage growth, improve connectivity and provide more choice for passengers, as long as these benefits are not outweighed by costs to the taxpayer and impacts to performance.

Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, said: “Passengers have put up with broken railways for far too long. This landmark reform will sweep away decades of failure, creating a Great British Railways passengers can rely on.

“We’re giving passengers a powerful voice with a new watchdog dedicated to addressing their biggest concerns, building railways people can trust, improving our services and boosting the economy in the process – the priority in our Plan for Change.”

The plans are the next step in establishing GBR, which is meant to end years of fragmentation by bringing track and train together in a unified, simplified railway.

The consultation also looks more widely at far-reaching reforms and how GBR will interact with the industry to effectively implement its plans to relentlessly focus on driving up standards, boosting the economy and ensuring railways deliver the services passengers deserve.

The Government adds it is already working to deliver reforms ahead of Great British Railways being set up, including simplifying fares and modernising ticketing.

This includes the rollout of Pay As You Go ticketing to give passengers the ability to travel more flexibly.

In addition to this, the flagship Public Ownership Act, which achieved Royal Assent last year, is designed to improve reliability and support the Government’s priority of boosting economic growth by encouraging more people to use the railway.

This is also intended to save taxpayers up to £150m a year that will be invested back into the railways, rather than the pockets of private shareholders.

The consultation starts today and will last for eight weeks.