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

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

With a certain depressing inevitability I've noticed comments from predictable sources bemoaning that the Government has chosen a colour scheme for GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) that "panders to the far right" 

[Oxonhutch]

Never a good idea to be wearing red in any kind of operational role on the railways, I've always thought

Yet out and about on the track operationally, we are only allowed to wear fluorescent orange so it can never be mistaken for yellow and green. Certainly never wear road workers' fluorescent yellow which does have a greenish hue under certain light conditions.

Also if the day warms up, never to hang up fluorescent outer garments, as they can't acknowledge a warning sound from a driver, and create unnecessary tension.

But certainly, a red 'flag' exhibited from a box should induce a dramatic, and highly disruptive, series of events on passing trains

[TaplowGreen]

News Thump nails it as so often! 

https://newsthump.com/2025/12/10/new-state-run-body-to-be-responsible-for-making-up-excuses-as-to-why-great-british-railways-are-always-late/

[ChrisB]

Lord Hendy Press Release

Transfer of West Midlands Trains’ services into public ownership

From 1 February 2026, 8 of the 14 train operators that DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) is responsible for will be in public ownership.[/b]

I am confirming to the House that on Sunday, 1 February 2026, West Midlands Trains, operating as London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, will become the fourth operator whose services will transfer into public ownership under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.

Operations will now be run by a new public sector operator – WM Trains Limited – a subsidiary of public corporation DfT Operator Limited (DFTO).

This now means that 8 of the 14 train operators that my department is responsible for and which will form the backbone of passenger services under Great British Railways (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)), are in public ownership.

Govia Thameslink Railway’s services will be the next to transfer on 31 May 2026, with the intention that Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway’s services will follow. Expiry notices will be issued to confirm the dates of transfer for these operators once a final decision has been taken.

Public ownership is already putting passengers at the heart of the railway, but, in and of itself, is not a silver bullet. To truly fix the structural issues that have long plagued our railways, we need systemic reform.

The railways bill continues its passage through Parliament and will establish GBR, a new publicly owned body, that will run and manage the tracks and trains for passengers and freight use every day. The bill will also give passengers a powerful new voice with a passenger watchdog, and an enhanced role for devolved governments and England’s mayors to have a bigger say in how the railway is run in their regions.

GBR will take responsibility for the day-to-day operational delivery of the railways: from delivering services to setting timetables, managing access to the network and operating, maintaining and renewing infrastructure. It will also bring fares and ticketing into the 21st century, simplifying the baffling array of fares and ticketing that passengers currently endure, ensuring they get the best value for money. The new GBR app and website will allow passengers to buy tickets, check train times and access a range of support all in one place.

Ahead of the establishment of GBR, the management of track and train is already being brought closer together with integrated leadership across DFTO train operating companies and Network Rail routes in defined regional areas. This will deliver improvements for passengers and freight users.

Furthermore, for the first time in 30 years, rail fares will be frozen for a year from March 2026. This will put money back in passengers’ pockets and ease the cost of living for hard-working people, including delivering savings across over a billion journeys.

The government continues to deliver on its Plan for Change, with investment and reform driving growth and rebuilding Britain. Reforming our railways is central to this and will drive improved performance, bringing more people back to rail, generating greater revenue and reducing costs.

[Electric train]

Recently I meet up with former work colleagues, their comment was that since NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and SE Trains has started its merge, this started 18 June 2025 by the formation of a joint Board the performance of the route  has drastically improved.

The removal of the "profit driven contractual" element of running a railway will be the driver for much of the performance improvement

[John D]

Dft have announced update to rail public ownership programme

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/great-british-railways#full-publication-update-history

It's about 3 months since previous operator conversion date was announced, but I cannot work out what has been updated.

[grahame]

Dft have announced update to rail public ownership programme

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/great-british-railways#full-publication-update-history

It's about 3 months since previous operator conversion date was announced, but I cannot work out what has been updated.

Announcement of Chiltern date

In March 2026, the Secretary of State made a final decision in regard to the transfer of Chiltern Railways’ services and an expiry notice was issued to confirm that the date of transfer will be 20 September 2026.

[ChrisB]

Which backs up Mark Hopwood's comment last Friday that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s transfer date would be more 'winter' than autumn. Presumably around 3 months from Chilterns date above.

[anthony215]

On X there is a video of a class 387 painted in the new GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) livery leaving the shed  at the depot near Brighton.

Sorry that livery just doesnt look right

[Witham Bobby]

On X there is a video of a class 387 painted in the new GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) livery leaving the shed  at the depot near Brighton.

Sorry that livery just doesnt look right

I can't think of a single railway vehicle on which this livery would look like anything other than a tacky toothpaste tube

[Chris from Nailsea]

I shall send Heidi Alexander an e-mail, including our Coffee Shop forum's critique of her proposed colour scheme for Great British Railways, and post her (or her department's) reply here. 

[Witham Bobby]

I shall send Heidi Alexander an e-mail, including our Coffee Shop forum's critique of her proposed colour scheme for Great British Railways, and post her (or her department's) reply here. 

Oh. Please do!

[anthony215]

Considering the money spent on it  it should be a lot better. Ive seen liveries done by enthusiasts which look far better

[ChrisB]

New names for the old TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in the file attached

[grahame]

New names for the old TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in the file attached

Thanks, Chris - I have extracted the new names from that

Great British Railways | Southern
Great British Railways | South East
Great British Railways | Thameslink
Great British Railways | Great Northern
Great British Railways | Great Western
Great British Railways | South Western
Great British Railways | Island Line
Great British Railways | Chiltern
Great British Railways | Anglia
Great British Railways | East Coast
Great British Railways | West Coast
Great British Railways | West Midlands
Great British Railways | North Western
Great British Railways | North
Great British Railways | TransPennine
Great British Railways | East Midlands
Great British Railways | CrossCountry
Great British Railways | High Speed
Great British Railways | Sleeper