BRITAIN’s transport secretary, Ms Louise Haigh, announced the launch of Shadow Great British Railways (GBR) on September 3, “firing the starting gun” on rail reform that will see infrastructure and passenger operations brought together under common public management.

Bringing together leaders from the Department for Transport (DfT), infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) and publicly-owned passenger operators, Shadow GBR will prepare the ground for GBR, which will come into being once the necessary legislation has been passed.

At Haigh’s instruction, Shadow GBR will be established by NR chief executive, Mr Andrew Haines, working with Mr Alex Hynes, director general, rail services, at DfT, and Mr Robin Gisby, CEO of DfT OLR Holdings (DOHL).

Established as the government’s operator of last resort, DOHL now manages passenger operators London North Eastern Railway (LNER), Northern, Southeastern and TranPennine Express (TPE) after contracts with private operators were either terminated or not renewed.

Creation of a similar arm’s-length body, also called GBR, was proposed by the previous Conservative government. Work to develop future industry structures has so far been undertaken by the GBR Transition Team (GBRTT) led by Haines.

Legislation that will end the awarding of passenger operating contracts to the private sector also made progress on September 3, as the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill completed it committee stage and began its third reading in the House of Commons.

According to DfT, bringing passenger operations back into public ownership will save taxpayers up to an estimated £150m every year in fees alone.

As part of the rail reform programme to restore performance and put passengers first, DfT has recognised the need to speed up training for drivers and says it is working with the sector to build resilience and improve productivity.

Following consultation this summer on lowering the minimum age for drivers from 20 to 18, DfT is reviewing feedback and will lay out its next steps in due course.

“Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train, and by progressing the Passenger Railways Services Bill, we’re one step closer to public ownership which will help put our railways back on track,” Haigh says.