PACTS has responded to The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail – A Consultation on Legislation to Implement Rail Transformation.
The consultation follows the Rail Review, announced by the Secretary of State for Transport in September 2018 and chaired by Keith Williams, former Chief Executive of British Airways, to which PACTS also responded. Developed into the Williams-Shapps plan in 2021, a transformation of the railways is proposed with the creation of a new public body, Great British Railways. The Government’s aim is to “bring the vast majority of the network under single national leadership and end years of fragmentation”.
PACTS’s concern is that safety has not been addressed sufficiently. Our response to the consultation highlights that any changes to the organisation, management and delivery must not undermine the rail network’s current excellent safety performance but seek to progress further. Great British Railway’s culture must include proactively improving the safety of rail passengers, freight customers, rail staff and the general public.
See PACTS response to the consultation.
The text for the consultation is available here.
