UK: The government has published its Draft Rail Reform Bill, to give parliamentarians and the industry an opportunity to provide feedback.
Legislation is needed to implement the government’s rail reform proposals, including the creation of Great British Railways. However, a bill is unlikely to pass before the next general election, which must be held by January 28 2025 but for practical reasons is likely to be earlier.
The House of Commons Transport Select Committee will take evidence on the merits of the draft bill, rather than undertaking line-by-line scrutiny, and will then report its conclusions and recommendations for the government to respond to. This does not alter the later process for passing the bill once formally introduced to Parliament.
Great British Railways
When passed, the bill would see the creation of a designated ‘Integrated Rail Body’ — Great British Railways — to bring together responsibility for infrastructure and train services.
Derby-based GBR is intended to serve as a single point of accountability, replacing the current split between Network Rail and the Secretary of State. GBR’s regional structure is intended to ensure differing customer needs are part of decision-making, and there would be specific duties relating to accessibility and freight.
The Secretary of State’s franchising authority functions would be transferred to GBR, which would award private sector companies contracts to operate passenger services. The government said open-access operators would be encouraged ’where they add value for passengers through more direct links and more options’.
Scottish and Welsh ministers would continue to exercise their existing devolved responsibilities, but with an option to delegate contracting authority to GBR if they wished.
The draft bill also enables the Secretary of State to issue regulations giving effect to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment relating to rolling stock, and the related Luxembourg Protocol.
The government has also published its response to the consultation on its Plan for Rail. This sets out how the public’s views on the proposed reforms have informed the draft legislation.
Responses
‘This draft bill demonstrates our commitment to reforming the railways. Working with industry, we will move towards a more modern and financially secure rail network that delivers for passengers’, said Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper when it was published on February 20.
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said ‘it is fitting that the Conservative’s flagship rail reform plan has arrived so late, it has no prospect of ever becoming law’. A Labour government would ’bring contracts into public ownership as they expire, and deliver a publicly owned and unified rail network, with every decision tested against delivering for the passenger and the taxpayer.’
Transport Committee Chair Iain Stewart said ‘legislation to get these important reforms on track has been long awaited. The Transport Committee will soon launch an inquiry to scrutinise the draft bill in detail and without delay. We will welcome views from across the sector, and will look to complete our work in good time before Parliament’s summer recess.’
Andrew Haines, Great British Railways Transition Team Lead and CEO of Network Rail, said ’bringing track and train together under a guiding mind is by far the best way to improve the service the railway offers, unlock the economic potential of a growing network and reduce the burden on the taxpayer’.
Rail Delivery Group CEO Jacqueline Starr said ‘the challenges facing the rail industry are well known, but rail is a vital service and should have a bright future if we work together. I look forward to working with the government to further develop the reforms needed to deliver for customers.’
Andy Bagnall, CEO of train operating owning group association Rail Partners, said ‘while not a substitute for legislation, the draft bill kicks off an important process to identify areas of consensus and disagreement between the political parties ahead of a general election’. He said ’reform doesn’t have to be a binary choice between a monopoly railway in public hands and franchising. We must embrace the best of both worlds.’
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, said ’whilst we would have wanted a full Transport Bill providing for GBR progressing already, it is good that the government is at least taking this preliminary step. The faster the government pushes on with rail reform the faster we can remove uncertainty about the future structure of the industry’, he added.
Alex Robertson, Chief Executive at watchdog Transport Focus, said ’passengers will judge these reforms based on whether they deliver more punctual, reliable services and better value for money. They also want to know who is in charge.’
Rail Freight Group Director General Maggie Simpson said ‘we are pleased that government has listened to the concerns of the rail freight sector, and has set out how the new body will be required to make provisions for the carriage of goods by rail. This will help create confidence in the new rail structure and encourage private sector investment in rail freight growth.’
General Secretary of the RMT union Mick Lynch said ‘this bill in its current form will do nothing to address the 30 year long decline in our railways since privatisation. The government’s priority is to support privatised companies so they can continue to extract huge profits and pay dividends to wealthy shareholders. We will continue to protect our members jobs, terms and conditions while campaigning for a fully integrated publicly owned railway that works in the interests of all passengers.’
TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said ‘the Tories are once again set to rearrange the deck chairs after yet another 14 years of their repeated failures. The only way to sort out the mess unleashed by the Tories botched privatisation of our railways is public ownership’.
