Great British Railways and the public ownership programme

Updates on the programme to transfer rail services into public ownership and establish GBR as the body responsible for passenger services and infrastructure.

Great British Railways (GBR) will be the single ‘directing mind’ for the railways, bringing track and train together, putting passengers and customers first, rebuilding trust in the railway and operating the majority of passenger services under public ownership and control.

Integrated leadership teams combining track and train, which will be the model for GBR, have already been set up for Anglia, South Eastern and South Western, with further regions to come.

GBR will end years of fragmentation and will have a relentless focus on driving up standards for passengers, including simpler fares and ticketing. It will have the independence and tools it needs to deliver improvements to rail services and plan and run the railway on a long-term basis in the interest of its passenger and freight customers and taxpayers.

Instead of having to navigate multiple train operators, passengers will once again simply be able to use ‘the railway’. In place of private franchised services, they will travel on GBR trains, running on GBR tracks, and working to a GBR timetable – all run by a single body focused on the interests of passengers and customers.

By unifying track and train under one organisation, GBR and public ownership will focus on getting the basics right for passengers and customers, as well as better value for taxpayers.

A whole-system approach will allow GBR to:

The new GBR app will also help to simplify fares and ticketing by providing tickets, train times and support all in one place. This will build on what has already been achieved in simplifying fares and ticketing – long-distance fares trials, extensions to Pay As You Go and the historic fares freeze.

GBR’s brand is being rolled out across the railway network in a phased way to ensure value for money.