Reports


in
several
newspapers
which
alleged
that
Great
British
Railways
was
being
‘scrapped’
by
ministers
have
been
dismissed
by
an
influential
rail
networking
group.

The
government
had
already
denied
claims
that
there
would
be
no
parliamentary
time
for
the
necessary
legislation
to
create
the
industry’s
new
‘guiding
mind’
before
the
next
General
Election,
saying
that
no
decision
has
yet
been
made
about
the
forthcoming
Parliamentary
agenda.

Great
British
Railways
is
the
core
idea
in
the
Williams-Shapps
‘Plan
for
Rail’,
which
was
published
in
2021
during
Boris
Johnson’s
time
as
Prime
Minister,
but
the
plan
lost
momentum
during
various
upheavals,
including
more
than
one
change
to
the
Conservative
Party
leadership.

Even
so,
a
Great
British
Railways
Transition
Team
of
some
300
people
led
by
Network
Rail
chief
executive
Andrew
Haines
is
continuing
to
work
on
the
foundations
of
the
new
structure,
which
is
intended
to
see
passenger
operating
concessions
replacing
the
former
franchises
and
include
the
infrastructure
responsibilities
now
managed
by
Network
Rail.

The
government
has
also
chosen
Derby
as
the
headquarters
of
GBR
after
a
competition
which
had
attracted
42
towns
and
cities
and
was
narrowed
down
to
a
shortlist
of
six.

In
spite
of
the
claims
in
the
press,
the
Derby-based
Rail
Forum
has
told
its
members
in
the
rail
supply
chain
that
it
has
been
testing
the
truth
of
the
reports.

It
said:
‘Some
of
you
may
have
seen
speculation
in
the
national
press
towards
the
end
of
last
week
suggesting
that
plans
for
GBR
had
been
scrapped.
Following
conversations
with
DfT
on
Friday
and
the
GBRTT
yesterday
we
are
reassured
that
nothing
has
changed
and
plans
are
still
very
much
moving
forwards.
Finding
space
in
the
next
session
of
Parliament
for
legislation
will
be
a
challenge
but
we
are
assured
that
this
will
be
brought
forward
as
soon
as
the
timetable
allows.’