Railways Bill

Key Points

• Creates Great British Railways (GBR) to plan, own infrastructure and operate passenger services, with five-year funding cycles and ORR oversight.
• Aims to grow passenger and freight traffic and improve service standards, supported by new bodies like a Passengers’ Council and a London Transport Users’ Committee.
• Policy debates focused on competition versus centralisation (efforts to strengthen competition rules and level the playing field for third‑party operators were proposed but defeated), and on the scope of government powers (notably Clause 72) and regulatory oversight.
• Freight priority is a key theme, with proposals for a freight growth target, annual reporting, a freight users’ council, and protections for private freight terminals, alongside clearer capacity planning.
• Local devolution and public‑ownership questions were raised by evidence from devolved authorities and campaign groups, with some calls for a statutory role for Mayors/authorities and stronger local linkages, though specific accepted changes in Committee are not shown in the amendments listed.

Progress

The bill has completed its Committee stages in the Commons, during which around 40 amendments (mostly from Conservative MPs) were debated and most were defeated on division. It has moved to the Report Stage for further consideration of policy issues such as competition, pricing, governance and local devolution.