The
publication
of
the
Government’s
draft
Rail
Reform
Bill
has
been
given
a
broad
welcome
by
much
of
the
rail
industry,
although
there
have
been
some
exceptions.
The
House
of
Commons
Transport
Committee
has
announced
an
inquiry
in
which
it
will
scrutinise
the
details
of
the
Bill,
which sets
out
the
basis
for
setting
up
Great
British
Railways.
This
would
be
the
public
name
for
what
would
be
legally
known
as
the
Integrated
Rail
Body,
or
IRB.
One
revelation
is
that
the
IRB
will
not
absorb
Network
Rail,
as
had
been
thought.
Instead,
Network
Rail
will
become
the
IRB
and
take
over
various
functions,
including
the
awards
of
passenger
contracts
which
have
been
made
by
the
transport
secretary
since
the
Strategic
Rail
Authority
was
abolished
in
2006.
Such
a
change
will
need
primary
legislation,
and
this
draft
Bill
starts
to
pave
the
way
for
that,
but
Labour
has
expressed
doubt
that
this
Bill
will
ever
become
law,
because
the
party
says
that
it
would
gradually
renationalise
the
passenger
railway
in
England
by
not
renewing
contracts
when
they
expire,
as
has
already
happened
in
Scotland
and
Wales.
The
audience
at
the
Bradshaw
Address
in
London
last
night
heard
from
rail
minister
Hue
Merriman
and
Labour’s
shadow
rail
minister
Stephen
Morgan.
Speaking
at
the
event,
which
is
organised
by
the
private
sector
lobby
group
Rail
Partners,
the
group’s
chief
executive
Andy
Bagnall
told
the
speakers
that,
‘without
actual
legislation
to
create
Great
British
Railways,
the
central
tenets
of
the
Plan
for
Rail
are
in
the
sidings’
and
that
‘we
don’t
agree
that
a
public
monopoly
is
the
best
way
to
fix
the
industry’.
Railway
Industry
Association
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
said:
‘Last
May,
RIA
and
70
of
our
members
wrote
to
Prime
Minister
Rishi
Sunak
about
the
need
to
take
the
establishment
of
Great
British
Railways
forward.
So
whilst
we
would
have
wanted
a
full
Transport
Bill
providing
for
GBR
progressing
already,
it
is
good
that
the
Government
is
at
least
taking
this
preliminary
step
towards
unifying
track
and
train,
and
developing
a
“guiding
mind”
and
a
long-term
plan
for
the
railway.
‘At
a
time
when
rail
demand
is
showing
a
steady
and
continuing
upturn,
and
with
the
RIA-commissioned
Steer
Report
published
just
this
week
reporting
that
passenger
numbers
will
grow
between
37
per
cent
and
97
per
cent
to
2050,
the
Government
needs
to
accelerate
the
legislative
process
without
delay.’
Silviya
Barrett
from
the
charity
Campaign
for
Better
Transport
said:
‘We
welcome
the
publication
of
this
draft
bill,
which
is
a
much-needed
step
towards
long-awaited
rail
reform,
now
we
need
to
see
it
move
swiftly
through
to
the
next
stage.
In
the
meantime,
we
urge
the
Government
to
move
forward
with
changes
that
do
not
require
legislation,
including
meaningful
reforms
to
ticketing
that
deliver
actual
benefits
and
better
value
for
passengers.’
The
chairman
of
the
House
of
Commons
Transport
Committee
Iain
Stewart
has
also
welcomed
the
publication
of
the
draft
Bill.
He
continued:
‘Proposals
to
set
up
Great
British
Rail
as
a
guiding
mind
for
the
rail
sector
have
been
broadly
supported,
and
legislation
to
get
these
important
reforms
on
track
has
been
long
awaited.
The
Transport
Committee
will
soon
launch
an
inquiry
to
scrutinise
the
draft
Bill
in
detail
and
without
delay.
We
will
welcome
views
from
across
the
sector,
and
will
look
to
complete
our
work
in
good
time
before
Parliament’s
summer
recess.’
Alex
Robertson,
who
is
chief
executive
Transport
Focus,
warned
that
‘Passengers
will
judge
these
reforms
based
on
whether
they
deliver
more
punctual,
reliable
services
and
better
value
for
money.
They
also
want
to
know
who
is
in
charge,
so
today’s
step
towards
setting
up
Great
British
Railways
is
welcome.
‘We
look
forward
to
playing
our
role
in
making
sure
passenger
interests
are
at
the
heart
of
how
the
changes
are
implemented.’
However,
RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
was
not
enthusiastic,
saying:
‘This
bill
in
its
current
form
will
do
nothing
to
address
the
30-year
long
decline
in
our
railways
since
privatisation.
‘The
government’s
priority
is
to
support
privatised
companies
so
they
can
continue
to
extract
huge
profits
and
pay
dividends
to
wealthy
shareholders.’
TSSA
general
secretary
Maryam
Eslamdoust
said:
‘The
Tories
are
once
again
trying
to
rearrange
the
deck
chairs
after
14
years
of
their
repeated
failures.
‘The
draft
Rail
Reform
Bill
is
completely
inadequate.
It
does
not
address
the
damage
that
privatisation
has
done
to
our
railways
and
infrastructure.
It
does
not
offer
the
fundamental
changes
that
we
need
to
deliver
a
fair
deal
for
passengers
and
transport
workers.
The
Conservative
Government
are
simply
on
the
wrong
track.
‘The
only
way
to
sort
out
the
mess
unleashed
by
the
Tories’
botched
privatisation
of
our
railways
is
public
ownership,
full
stop.
Thankfully,
Labour
is
now
committed
to
this,
which
can’t
come
soon
enough.’
