Transport Secretary Mark Harper promises ‘major reform' to fix ‘broken’ railways

He confirmed Great British Railways (GBR) will take charge of timetables, set ticket prices, collect revenue and manage rail infrastructure in England, and said the winner of the competition to host the state-owned organisation will be announced “before Easter”.

But he also pledged to “enhance the role of the private sector”, claiming companies will be needed to “maximise competition, innovation, and revenue growth right across the industry”, when he delivered the annual George Bradshaw address in central London.

The Tory Minister said the current system for running the railways is not fit for purpose and “needs fundamental reform”, as passenger services have become too unreliable and financially unsustainable without huge taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Mr Harper said that under the new system, GBR’s rail experts will work with private operators to deliver “an efficient, high-performing railway” and the Government will no longer be involved in operational decisions.

“This is not Network Rail 2.0, nor a return to British Rail,” he said. “Taking politics out of the railways is the only way to build a truly commercially led industry.”

He added: “Nationalisation was tried and ultimately thrown out – being largely responsible for the steady decline of passengers and services.

“Nationalisation was about as dynamic and forward-looking as the British Rail sandwich – soggy, wrapped in a clingfilm of backward thinking and unfit for consumption in the 21st century.”

During his speech, Mr Harper also announced a number of changes designed to “reinvigorate” the private sector, “drive innovation” and increase passenger numbers.

He said operators will be offered new contracts for passenger services, with performance incentives and “simple, commercially driven targets”, and some will be granted more autonomy.

But he also stressed that “modernising working practices must be part of reform” and the Government wants to help operators secure new working agreements that ensure staff are available to work seven days a week.

It comes as staff across the country are taking part in a series of disruptive strikes, as part of a long-running row over conditions and pay, and several operators have been forced to cancel thousands of services at short notice in recent months because drivers have stopped volunteering to work rest days.

During his speech, Mr Harper revealed a scheme, which allows passengers to buy singles tickets for half the cost of a return ticket, will be trialled across the whole LNER network and it could then be adopted by other operators.

Demand-based pricing, which allows passengers to pay less when services are quiet, is also being trialled by the publicly-owned LNER.

“We have a broken model that is unable to adapt to customer needs and financially unsustainable,” said Mr Harper. “Left untreated, we will drive passengers away.”