The Department for Transport has confirmed that government plans to overhaul rail transport have been boosted.
With the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill making its way through the House of Commons, the government has now confirmed that Shadow Great British Railways has been launched to drive forward an overhaul to the running of the rail network. This comes following the Labour Party’s pledge to bring the rail network back under public ownership to deliver for passengers.
In order to drive improvement, leaders from across the Department for Transport, Network Rail, and publicly-owned operators will be brought together under Great British Rail, an organisation that could be responsible for more reliable services, prioritising passengers, and saving the taxpayer up to £150 million per year. This move will also see the government committing to accelerating the training for new train drivers, whilst also working alongside the rail sector to build resilience and improve productivity.
Louise Haigh, Secretary of State for Transport, said:
“Today, I am firing the starting gun on the biggest reforms to our railways in a generation. I am determined to end the chaos, delay and disruption faced by people on train journeys every day.
“Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train, and by progressing the Passenger Railways Services Bill we’re one step closer to public ownership which will help put our railways back on track.
“This government will direct every penny into creating a stronger, more reliable rail network that works for everyone.
“This is about making the railways work for the people that use them – putting passengers first and driving up performance.”
Another part of the government’s work to improve transport connectivity around the country will see £27 million committed to the rolling out of tap-in tap-out technology at a further 45 train stations next year.
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