Transport
secretary


Louise
Haigh
has
appointed
West
Midlands
Combined
Authority
chief
executive
Laura
Shoaf
CBE
as
the
chair
of
Shadow
Great
British
Railways,
which
was
set
up
by
Ms
Haigh
a
month
ago.

SGBR
is
a
first
step
towards
creating
Great
British
Railways
in
full,
although
an
Act
of
Parliament
will
be
needed
first,
so
that
it
can
assume
the
infrastructure
responsibilities
of
Network
Rail
and
the
Department
for
Transport’s
Operator
of
Last
Resort.
GBR
was
originally
proposed
as
the
industry’s
‘guiding
mind’,
but
is
now
known
as
its
future
‘directing
mind’. 

Before
leading
the
WMCA
Laura
Shoaf
was
managing
director
of
Transport
for
West
Midlands
where
she
oversaw
major
transport
investment.
She
was
the
first
female
chair
of
the
Urban
Transport
Group,
which
comprises
transport
leaders
from
the
city
regions,
and
supported
the
industry
on
its
recovery
from
the
Covid-19
pandemic.

Laura
was
also
one
of
the
UK’s
first
Transport
Champions
for
Tackling
Violence
Against
Women
and
Girls.
The
Department
for
Transport
said
‘her
experience
will
be
key
in
making
the
rail
network
more
accessible
and
safer
for
all
passengers’.

Transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
said:
‘For
too
long,
passengers
have
suffered
from
a
fragmented
rail
system
that
doesn’t
work
in
their
interests
–
we’re
going
to
change
that.

‘Establishing
Shadow
Great
British
Railways
is
a
significant
step
towards
delivering
a
unified
railway
with
passengers
at
its
heart
by
bringing
together
track
and
train,
and
it’s
fantastic
we
have
someone
of
Laura’s
calibre
to
drive
forward
reforms.’

Laura
Shoaf
said:
‘The
arrival
of
the
railways
fundamentally
changed
the
United
Kingdom
–
creating
huge
growth,
new
connections
between
communities,
and
opening
up
the
opportunity
of
jobs
and
adventure
to
people
across
the
whole
of
the
country.

‘I
recognise
the
great
power
that
our
transport
network
plays
in
our
day
to
day
lives,
but
in
order
for
it
to
work,
and
in
order
for
it
to
keep
opening
up
these
opportunities,
it
has
to
be
built
around
our
passengers
and
freight
users.

‘It
is
my
privilege
to
have
been
asked
to
chair
Shadow
Great
British
Railways,
and
my
focus
will
be
ensuring
people
are
at
the
heart
of
the
railways
and
to
ensure
this
remains
a
focus
for
years
to
come.’