CHRIS Grayling has resigned from his position as transport secretary and has been replaced by Grant Shapps in Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Shapps was prevously minister of state at the Department for International Development and is also a former chairman of the Conservative Party. He is Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

Railway Industry Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘I would like to congratulate Grant Shapps on his appointment.

‘The new transport secretary leads the Department for Transport at a particularly interesting time for the rail industry. There is a record £48 billion of funding available in the next five years, and a number of major projects in the pipeline, including Crossrail, HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, East West Rail, Crossrail 2, Transpennine Route Upgrade, London Underground Deep Tube, and Midlands Rail Hub. And, the industry is continuing to work to increase capacity, improve customer experience and decarbonise and digitalise our rail network, through initiatives like the Rail Sector Deal.

‘But the industry also faces challenges ahead. At a time when the Network Rail devolution plan and Williams Rail Review will likely see a radical restructure of the railways, with the rail supply sector’s continuing concerns about “boom and bust” in rail investment, affecting both infrastructure and rolling stock, and a lack of visibility of planned enhancement work, and with the government committing to decarbonise rail, requiring a better approach to electrification, there are clearly plenty of rail issues for Mr Shapps to deal with in the coming months.’