Great British Railways – a new publicly-owned system

13th June 2024 | News

The Labour Party’s manifesto for the General Election on 4 July, commits to setting up Great British Railways – the new arm’s length public body which will own, plan and run our railways in the public interest.

This will be created in two stages. Firstly, by renationalising the ten rail franchises which are still privately run, when their current contracts end. This should happen between between September 2024 – October 2027 (see ‘Our Pathway to Public Ownership‘ graphic below for exact dates).

And secondly, by preparing the legislation necessary to create the new Great British Railways body (see Getting Britain Moving: Labour’s Plan to Fix Britain’s Railways for more detail). Below is an extract from the manifesto, so we can hold them to account.

This also contains some important pledges on bringing bus networks back into public control (through bus ‘franchising’) and enabling regional transport authorities to set up new publicly-owned operators in order to deliver fully-integrated public transport.

Whilst this is a massive step in the right direction, Labour’s plans fail to commit to bringing the profiteering Rolling Stock Companies back into public ownership.

They also still want to allow private operators to run some ‘Open Access’ rail services, which will lead to unnecessary complexity for passengers, be “the enemy of a rational timetable” according to Christian Wolmar, and allow continued profit leakage from the system.

We will be campaigning to ensure Great British Railways becomes a reality and that all elements of the system are eventually brought back into public ownership.

Extract from Labour Party Manifesto 2024:

A modern transport network

“Labour will overhaul Britain’s railways. Fourteen years of Conservative neglect have failed passengers, businesses and taxpayers. We will put passengers at the heart of the service by reforming the railways and bringing them into public ownership. We will do this as contracts with existing operators expire or are broken through a failure to deliver, without costing taxpayers a penny in compensation.

Great British Railways will deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility. It will be responsible for investment, day-to-day operational delivery and innovations and improvements for passengers, working with publicly-owned rail operators in Wales and Scotland. Mayors will have a role in designing the services in their areas. There will be a duty to promote and grow the use of rail freight. Open access operators are an important part of the rail system and will have an ongoing role. Labour will also create a tough new passenger watchdog, focused on driving up standards.

Local communities have lost control over their bus routes. Fares have increased, routes have disappeared, and services are unreliable. Building on the work of Labour mayors, we will reform the broken system through new powers for local leaders to franchise local bus services, and we will lift the ban on municipal ownership. This will give local communities in England control over routes and schedules.

Under the Conservatives, transport services have remained fragmented and inefficient with companies and sectors failing to speak to and plan with each other. Labour will give mayors the power to create unified and integrated transport systems, allowing for more seamless journeys, and to promote active travel networks. Labour will also develop a long-term strategy for transport, ensuring transport infrastructure can be delivered efficiently and on time.”