Railways Bill 2025: introducing and designing Great British Railways - general topic

[whole diary]

[stuving]

So, here it is at last. In about an hour's time Heidi Alexander is due to introduce the Railways Bill to Parliament. This is only a formal step, and may not even involve much of a statement (as no time is allowed for it).

Presentation of Bills

No debate (Standing Order No. 57)
Railways

Secretary Heidi Alexander

Bill to make provision about railways and railway services; and for connected purposes.

There was a long statement put out by DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) today - too long to summarise, but you may find interesting bits in it to quote. The key sentence is the last one here:

Declining public trust and pride in today’s railway are symptoms of a system which has lost sight of the very people and customers it is meant to serve. A railway that, for 3 decades, has been focused on contracts and codes rather than the needs of its customers and taxpayers.

Britain deserves a railway fit for its future. One that restores a lost sense of pride and rebuilds the trust of each and every one of its passengers, with a relentless focus on their needs and the growth of their communities. As Transport Secretary, delivering this change is one of my top priorities. This vision is already becoming a reality as we bring more operators back into public ownership. But the outdated model of franchising and structural fragmentation still inhibits how the railway is run.

To fix this, we will introduce a new Railways Bill to fundamentally reform the sector and establish Great British Railways (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)) as its directing mind.

[ChrisB]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill

[ChrisB]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill/railways-bill-introducing-and-designing-great-british-railways

[Chris from Nailsea]

I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[ChrisB]

There are 9 sections under that one link

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill

Graham has started one thread on one of the sections - Passenger Watchdog - and this was to be the start of a second before setting up all the others so that discussion was concentrated on the Government's sectioning.

Rather than concentrating all discussion into two or even one (if you merge Graham's here too) - I think it better to follow the Government's sections?

[ChrisB]

I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.

So go on - merge Graham's here too....

[grahame]

I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.

So go on - merge Graham's here too....

I'm going to defer to CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum) on this ... busy sorting out server load issues

[Chris from Nailsea]

My thanks to ChrisB and grahame for leading me into something of a minefield here.

I suggest that we do have separate topics here, for such sections of the Railways Bill as attract specific comment.

Therefore, I have expanded the heading of grahame's topic, so that we can continue to discuss its implications in the context of the Railways Bill.

However, I am, as ever, open to other suggestions as to how we on the Coffee Shop forum could best deal with this whole subject. CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[grahame]

Interesting article in From New Civil Engineer

Rail minister Lord Hendy says he expects that rail reform will bring “more reliability, higher revenue and reduced cost” on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)’s railways.

Last week, the government introduced its long-trailed Railways Bill to Parliament. This will establish Great British Railways (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)) to bring control of the infrastructure and services under one publicly-owned entity that will be “responsible for coordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue”, according to the Department for Transport. This, it says, will “create a simpler, more unified railway that delivers easier journeys and offers better value for money”.

[continues]

[ChrisB]

It certainly does....

“It gives power to the mayors of the combined authorities,” Hendy said. “GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) must interact with them and must listen to what they say about the provision of services in their areas.”

I haven't read or heard about other consultees been mandated, so it looks as though we will need to open channels with the Transport Authorities of the Elected Mayoral areas once they are all established - if you want influence over your areas rail services

[John D]

DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) has released details of improvements for nationalised operators under GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)

https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gbr-improvements-train-operators-in-public-ownership-are-making-for-customers

And new livery which will be on show at London Bridge today

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-change-the-future-of-british-trains-arrives-as-government-reforms-broken-railways

[a-driver]

DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) has released details of improvements for nationalised operators under GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)

https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gbr-improvements-train-operators-in-public-ownership-are-making-for-customers

Not a highly impressive set of improvements for these nationalised operators, with several projects having been started prior to nationalisation.

[eightonedee]

And now -the new livery-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9kx0je10o

..which looks like it has been designed so as to avoid Reform complaining about politically correct designs being foisted on England's travelling public.

Interesting to see if any local or regional variations are allowed/introduced (on the basis that the TfW^▸ (Transport for Wales) and Scottish ones are "national" and will not change). From recent overseas trips, regional liveries seem to be a growing trend in Europe.

[JohnM]

And now -the new livery-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9kx0je10o

..which looks like it has been designed so as to avoid Reform complaining about politically correct designs being foisted on England's travelling public.

Paint job on renationalised trains ‘a mad dog’s breakfast’

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/bfc89bd6d8360dc6

Renationalised trains will be given a Union flag-inspired red, white and blue livery, the Government has announced.

State-owned company Great British Railways (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)) is to unveil its branding on Tuesday, before it is rolled out to trains, websites and stations from next spring.

Stephen Bayley, founder of the Design Museum, criticised the new colour scheme.

Mr Bayley said: “It’s atrocious. A mad dog’s breakfast. A livery is branding and branding is all about associations and expectations.

“In this sense, they’ve got it right. It projects the values of the sponsoring organisation: artless, careless, clumsy, unintelligent and uncoordinated.”

Referring to Japan’s bullet trains, he continued: “Have they never seen a Japanese Shinkansen? That’s what a train should look like.

“We have some of the best designers in the world in this country. A pity they were not hired by Great British Railways.”

However, the Department for Transport said the “striking and memorable design” was developed in-house, to maximise value for money.

The new livery will mark a stark change from the “Rail Blue” colour scheme that defined publicly owned British Rail’s trains from the mid-1960s to the 1980s.

Christian Wolmar, a rail historian and author, said he found the new GBR livery “impressive”, saying: “I think it conveys an impression of speed. It’s elegant. It combines Union Jack colours, and I think it’s very important to have an identity.

“The design is bloody fabulous. I just wonder if it’s a bit too modern, whether they could have reflected at all on the past, but I have to commend it.”

The seven major train operators that have already nationalised have kept the branding of their previous operators.

The Government has said that existing train companies will rebrand as Great British Railways, a process that has now been brought forward to next year from the expected date of 2027.

Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, said: “I’m immensely proud to unveil the new look for Great British Railways as we deliver landmark legislation to nationalise our trains and reform the railway so it better serves passengers.

“This isn’t just a paint job, it represents a new railway, casting off the frustrations of the past and focused entirely on delivering a proper public service for passengers.

“With fares frozen, a bold new look and fundamental reforms becoming law, we are building a railway Britain can rely on and be proud of.”

[Mark A]

Is it a bit dazzle camoflagy?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage

How will this sit with signing that's carried by train exteriors? Thinking of stripes on carriages that denote 1st/standard class, wheelchair space, cycle space etc.

Also, the choice of white for the doors will put the spotlight on the effectiveness of the systems used to clean train exteriors.

Mark