A new piece of legislation has been introduced to Parliament aimed at shaking up rail transport in Britain.

The government yesterday announced the first reading of the Railways Bill in the House of Commons, legislation they claim will pave the way for the biggest reform of Britain’s railways in 30 years.
If successful, the Railways Bill will lead to the creation of Great British Railways, a publicly owned company which will operate all of the UK’s track and rail infrastructure, alongside most of England’s passenger rail services as well as a number in Scotland and Wales.

In a written statement to Parliament, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said:

“Today’s passengers are at the mercy of a complex system of poorly coordinated organisations, all incentivised to look inward and outsource blame. GBR will put an end to this by bringing together the work of 17 different organisations – from train operators to public bodies, government, and the regulator – eliminating unnecessary duplication and creating a single organisation responsible for operating, maintaining and improving our railways.”

Renationalisation of Britain’s railways has been a key policy priority for Labour since the party’s election to government in 2024.

In a statement published on X, Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of thee National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) said he "welcomes" the announcement , adding that "GBR could be a once in a generation opportunity to drive improvements for passengers, workers, sustainable economic growth and improved productivity in our economy".

The Department for Transport currently operates 11 railway franchises under the Operator of Last Resort model, with West Midlands Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway set to return to public ownership in early 2026.