Great British Railways plan faces delays of 18 months

PLANS to fix Britain’s railways may be watered down as legislation to give powers to the body driving the changes risks being delayed.

Great British Railways, set up by Boris Johnson, will not be part of the King’s Speech and will not be given the legislative powers it needs to sign off contracts and set fares, The Times reported.

The plan was introduced by Grant Shapps, then transport secretary, as part of the Williams-shapps review, with the intention to fix the fragmented nature of the railways.

The aim was to provide a “guiding mind” for the railways by bringing overall control of track and trains under one body.

It was described as the biggest shakeup to the country’s railways system since the 1990s.

A key part of its role would be to organise timetables, set fares and contract private firms to operate services on routes.

However, this requires legislation, which now appears that it will not be part of the King’s speech later this year.

According to the newspaper, sources within the Department for Transport (DFT) have been told that it is not a priority of Rishi Sunak and vital powers will not be given to Great British Railways in the next parliamentary session.

On Wednesday, the Railway Industry Association wrote a letter urging the Government to ensure it included a bill to formally establish the body in the next parliamentary session.

The letter, which was signed by dozens of rail industry leaders, warned that if it was excluded it could be delayed by 18 months or more.

The decision comes despite Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, announcing that Derby would be the headquarters of Great British Railways.

A transitional team is in place, but when fully operational, the body will be split across five regions, including Scotland, the North West and Central, Wales and West, Southern and North West and Central.

A government source said: “The Government is committed to rail reform through the creation of Great British Railways and launched its headquarters in Derby just over a month ago.

“Our programme of reform will unlock passenger benefits which we are already delivering, including workforce reform, roll out of contactless payment and fares reform.

“No decisions have been made on legislation in the fourth session of this parliament.”