On 20 February Mark Harper commended a draft Bill for a new ‘guiding mind’, Great British Railways, to the House for pre-legislative scrutiny and, on the same day, published the Government’s response to the consultation about legislative reform.
The Government’s anticipation is that: “GBR will have responsibility for infrastructure, operations and oversight of whole industry finance where it is the franchising authority. It will be adaptable to changing customer needs, working in close partnership with the private sector (including train operating companies, freight operators, suppliers and innovators) to deliver a more efficient, modern rail system underpinned by better collaboration and aligned incentives, generating value and savings that will have benefits for passengers and taxpayers.”
PACTS welcomes the creation of Great British Railways with its plan to draw disparate parties together and end years of fragmentation. In order to prioritise issues relating to safety PACTS would like to see a separate consultation undertaken with the sector on opportunities to optimise the approach to health, safety and security under the new arrangements. It is important that any changes undergo a specific safety validation. We recommend that such a consultation includes addressing system weaknesses identified as part of the 2011 McNulty study of the rail industry’s value for money.