Great British Railways
Planned UK state-owned body intended to manage most railway infrastructure and passenger rail services across Great Britain.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Great British Railways (GBR) is a planned state-owned railway organisation intended to bring much of Great Britain's rail system under a single strategic and operational framework. Its proposed responsibilities include ownership and management of most railway infrastructure, including track, signalling and stations; planning timetables; setting fares; managing passenger-service contracts; overseeing rolling-stock operations and maintenance; and controlling access to the network. The organisation is designed to absorb or coordinate functions currently distributed among Network Rail, the Department for Transport's operator arrangements, the Rail Delivery Group, passenger train operating companies as their contracts expire, and selected railway functions currently performed by the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road. The proposal is rooted in the long-running debate over the structure of Britain's railway. The system was nationalised as British Railways in the late 1940s, progressively reorganised during the following decades, and then privatised during the 1990s. Infrastructure was transferred to Railtrack before being returned to public ownership through Network Rail after Railtrack's financial collapse and the scrutiny that followed the Hatfield accident. Passenger services subsequently operated largely through private franchises, although the pandemic-era emergency agreements shifted most revenue and cost risk back to government. The franchise system was formally abandoned in 2020 in favour of National Rail Contracts and a more interventionist public-sector model. The immediate intellectual foundation for GBR was the Williams Rail Review, commissioned in 2018 and published in 2021 as the Williams–Shapps Plan. It recommended a single public body to provide stronger system leadership, integrate infrastructure and passenger-service planning, simplify ticketing and fares, and replace the fragmented franchise model with concession-style contracts. Earlier attempts to legislate for the body were delayed. The Transport Bill associated with the proposal was set aside in 2022, and subsequent governments continued to discuss rail reform without completing the necessary legislation. Following the 2024 general election, the Labour government revived GBR as a central part of its rail policy. Its approach combines the progressive return of passenger services to public ownership as existing contracts expire with the creation of a new organisation to coordinate infrastructure and operations. Freight operators, open-access passenger operators, rolling-stock companies, Transport for Wales Rail, ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, Transport for London services and other devolved or locally controlled systems are expected to retain varying degrees of operational independence. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 enabled the government to use its state-owned operator as the preferred recipient of passenger contracts, while the proposed Railways Bill is intended to provide GBR's formal legal foundation. A Shadow Great British Railways body was established in 2024 to prepare for the organisation's creation. Laura Shoaf was appointed its chair. Derby was selected as the intended headquarters after a national competition involving dozens of towns and cities, reflecting the government's objective of locating the organisation outside London and strengthening railway-related skills and regional economic activity. GBR is also intended to provide a unified public-facing railway brand. Its visual identity draws on the British Rail double-arrow symbol and Rail Alphabet typography, linking the proposed organisation to the historical national railway while presenting it as a modern public-service body. The plans include a single GBR website and mobile application for ticket sales, although independent retailers such as Trainline are expected to continue operating. Because the organisation depends on legislation and t…
History
Great Britain's railways were originally developed and operated by private companies. The major companies were nationalised after the Second World War, creating British Railways in 1948. The national system underwent repeated reorganisations and modernisation programmes before the Conservative government began privatising the railway in the 1990s. Infrastructure ownership and maintenance moved to Railtrack, while passenger services were divided among privately operated train operating companies under a franchising model. Railtrack was floated on the stock exchange in 1996. After the Hatfield accident in 2000 exposed serious weaknesses in infrastructure management and led to intense criticism of Railtrack's performance, the company entered administration. Its infrastructure responsibilities were transferred to Network Rail, a public-sector company established in 2002. Passenger operations nevertheless remained largely franchise-based, with the Department for Transport intervening through a state-owned operator when companies encountered financial or performance difficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the financial structure of passenger rail. Emergency agreements introduced in 2020 transferred most revenue and cost risk from private operators to government. In September of that year, the government ended the previous franchising model and began using National Rail Contracts. These changes created the conditions for a more integrated system in which government would retain greater control over fares, timetables, service specifications and operator finances. In 2018, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling commissioned an independent review led by Keith Williams. Published in 2021, the Williams–Shapps Rail Review proposed Great British Railways as a single guiding organisation for infrastructure and passenger services. The plan envisaged GBR controlling fares, timetables, ticketing and network strategy while private companies could continue operating trains under concession-like Passenger Service Contracts. It also recommended a unified national brand to replace the fragmented presentation of the privatised railway. Legislative progress was uneven. The Truss government announced in 2022 that the proposed Transport Bill would not proceed during that parliamentary session. The following government reaffirmed its commitment to reform, and a draft Rail Reform Bill appeared in the 2023 King's Speech, but no completed legislation was delivered during that parliamentary period. A 2024 Public Accounts Committee report criticised the Department for Transport's limited progress and said that GBR's proposed role remained insufficiently defined. The Labour government elected in 2024 renewed the project. Its model separates the gradual public ownership of passenger services from the legislation needed to establish GBR. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 made the government's DfT Operator the preferred recipient of passenger services when private contracts expire. South Western Railway subsequently entered state control in 2025. The Railways Bill, introduced in November 2025, was intended to create GBR formally and transfer or coordinate the functions of Network Rail, the DfT Operator, the Rail Delivery Group and relevant government departments. A shadow GBR was established in 2024, chaired by Laura Shoaf, to prepare structures and policies before the organisation's statutory creation. Derby was selected as the headquarters after a competition involving 42 towns and cities. The planned body is expected to manage infrastructure throughout England, Scotland and Wales, but it will coexist with devolved and locally controlled railways. ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper remain associated with Scottish Government structures; Transport for Wales Rail remains under Welsh control; and systems such as Transport for London, Merseyrail and other light-rail services are outside the core GBR model. The final organisation is therefore intended to be neither a complete return to the pre-privatisation British Rail model nor a simple holding company. Passenger services are expected to be publicly specified and increasingly publicly operated, while freight companies, open-access passenger operators and rolling-stock owners remain independent or privately owned. GBR's final powers, legal status, financial arrangements and timetable depend on the passage and implementation of the Railways Bill.
- 2025
Railways Bill introduced
[1]The government introduced the bill intended to establish Great British Railways in law.
- 2024
Shadow GBR established
[1]A shadow organisation was created to prepare the future body, with Laura Shoaf appointed as chair.
- 2024
Passenger public-ownership legislation enacted
[1]The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act created the route for passenger services to return to state control as contracts expire.
- 2023
Derby selected as proposed headquarters
[1]Derby was selected after a competition and public consultation involving 42 towns and cities.
- 2022
Proposed Transport Bill delayed
[1]The government announced that legislation associated with creating GBR would not proceed in that parliamentary session.
- 2021
Williams–Shapps Plan recommends GBR
[1]The review's published recommendations included a single state-owned organisation to provide strategic leadership for infrastructure and passenger rail.
- 2018
Williams Rail Review commissioned
[1]The government commissioned Keith Williams to review the structure and performance of Britain's railway.
- 2002
Infrastructure transferred to Network Rail
[1]After Railtrack's collapse, infrastructure responsibilities were transferred to Network Rail, the body GBR is intended to absorb.
- 1993
Rail privatisation programme begins
[1]The government began restructuring and privatising the railway, separating infrastructure from passenger operations and introducing franchising.
- 1948
Creation of British Railways
[1]The principal privately owned railway companies were nationalised, creating the historical national railway system that later became the principal reference point for GBR.
Products and positioning
Public-sector railway authority intended to reunify infrastructure management and most passenger-service planning under a single national rail organisation.
Rail transport
Passenger railway services
GBR is intended to oversee and progressively integrate most passenger services in England, Scotland and Wales as existing private contracts expire. It would specify service levels, manage timetables and fares, and use public-service contracts or directly controlled operators. Devolved, locally controlled and open-access services would remain outside or alongside the core GBR structure.
Rail infrastructure
Rail infrastructure management
The proposed organisation would absorb Network Rail's principal functions and own or manage most track, signalling and stations across Great Britain. Its infrastructure role would include maintenance, renewal, investment planning and coordination with passenger and freight operations.
Ticketing
National ticketing and retail platform
GBR is expected to provide a single national website and mobile application for rail tickets, replacing the separate digital retail channels operated by many train companies. Independent retailers, including Trainline, are expected to remain available.
Rail network regulation
Network access management
The proposed body would manage access to the railway network and set charges for existing and future open-access operators. Some responsibilities currently associated with the Office of Rail and Road are expected to move to GBR, while the regulator would retain oversight of business plans and major decisions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Great British Railways brand development
United Kingdom
The proposed national rail brand was developed around the British Rail double-arrow symbol, Rail Alphabet typography and a Union Flag-inspired colour scheme.
Outcome. A staged rollout was planned, with branded trains and stations appearing before the organisation's full formal operation.
- 2022Great British Railways headquarters competition
United Kingdom
The Department for Transport invited towns and cities to compete to host GBR's headquarters, linking the decision to regional development, railway heritage, connectivity, skills and value for money.
Outcome. Derby was selected in 2023.
Brand decisions
2025
Introduction of the Railways BillStrategyBackground
A statutory basis was required to create GBR and transfer functions from Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group, the DfT and other railway bodies.
Action taken
The government introduced the Railways Bill to Parliament in November 2025.
Aftermath
The bill was intended to establish GBR, with operational commencement dependent on parliamentary approval and subsequent implementation.
2024
Progressive renationalisation of passenger servicesStrategyBackground
The Labour government sought to reunify passenger service planning and infrastructure management without paying compensation to terminate contracts early.
Action taken
Passenger services were to transfer to public ownership as existing contracts expired, using the DfT Operator as the preferred state operator.
Aftermath
South Western Railway became the first operator transferred under the new approach in 2025, while the proposed GBR legislation remained necessary for broader integration.
2021
Adoption of the Williams–Shapps integrated railway modelStrategyBackground
The fragmented structure created by privatisation, franchise instability and the pandemic-era emergency agreements prompted a review of rail governance.
Action taken
The review recommended a state-owned body to coordinate infrastructure, passenger services, fares, timetables, ticketing and network strategy, while allowing private operators to run services under contracts.
Aftermath
The recommendation became the policy foundation for Great British Railways, although implementation was delayed by successive governments.
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