GOVERNMENT has confirmed that a new Great British Railways (GBR) organisation is to be created, with a focus on re-energising the role of the private sector and restoring train operator responsibility for enhancing revenue and making day-to-day decisions concerning timetables, rolling stock provision and the term and conditions of employment.
It is a step back from the initial proposals by the GBR Transition Team (GBRTT), where concession-style contracts would have confined operators to negotiating a fee for running a specified train service without taking on revenue risk. The change of remit was announced by Mark Harper, the Secretary of State for Transport, during the annual George Bradshaw lecture on February 7.
The location for the new organisation’s headquarters has yet to be announced, but there is speculation that Derby will be chosen. There will also be five regional centres. The continued reference to the organisation not being ‘Network Rail Mark 2’, suggests that infrastructure ownership will remain as now, but with the network planning function becoming part of GBR.
Since the pandemic, revenue from fares outside the areas under the control of devolved administrations, including London, is
