IT IS hoped Great British Railways, the new organisation created as part of the implementation of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, will be in place by early 2024, Rail Minister Wendy Morton has told the House of Commons Transport Committee. However, the Minister cautioned that primary legislation would be needed to set up the new organisation and the timing for this is yet to be confirmed.
Conrad Bailey, Director General for Rail Services and Strategy at DfT, said the legislation had two key components. One is to transfer franchising powers from the DfT to GBR, and the second will concern changes around the wider industry structure. He said some changes will not require legislation, and the detail around this is being worked through at the moment. Mr Bailey confirmed the role of the regulator would be part of that discussion, along with the roles of open access passenger operators, freight and devolved authority operators within the structure.
Asked how GBR would be structured, Network Rail Chief Executive and GBR Transition Team (GBRTT) Lead Andrew Haines said the fundamental principle would be for a very heavily devolved organisation. Initially this would be based on the Network Rail Regions str…
